DTCC ran live institutional trades using tokenized securities held at its central depository, drawing more than 30 traditional finance and digital market firms. The July 15 event moved real securities onto two blockchain networks ahead of a planned October 2026 service launch.
More than 30 firms — among them Blackrock, CME Group, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, NYSE, Nasdaq and Vanguard — joined a live tokenization event run by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which converted securities held at its central depository into tokens for real institutional trades. DTCC announced the results on July 15, 2026, describing it as its largest tokenization production initiative by breadth of use cases, asset classes and participants.
What the firms tested
The securities sat at The Depository Trust Company, DTCC's central securities depository, before being converted into tokens and put through live trades. DTCC said the initiative tested whether blockchain-based transactions could run through established market infrastructure without changing investors' protections, entitlements or ownership rights.
The participant list ran across exchanges, banks, asset managers, trading firms, wallet providers and technology platforms — a group that also included Circle, Chainlink, Microsoft, Citadel Securities, State Street Investment Management and Societe Generale. That spread let DTCC examine how a tokenized security could pass through multiple parts of an institutional transaction rather than showing only the initial conversion of an asset into a token.
Which workflows the event covered
Over several hours, participants ran collateral pledges, securities lending, central counterparty margin processes and token transfers, according to DTCC's account of the test. The event also covered U.S. Treasury and repo delivery-versus-payment transactions alongside equity delivery-versus-payment and delivery-versus-delivery trades.
The conversions took place on two networks: Hyperledger Besu, an enterprise Ethereum-based platform serving as DTCC's private network, and Canton, a public network built by Digital Asset Holdings. Brian Steele, DTCC's president of Clearing & Securities Services, said the test showed how tokenization can enable real-time collateral mobility and reduce counterparty risk.
The path to October
The planned DTCC Tokenization Service will create digital representations of assets held at DTC, letting participants receive them in selected wallets and move securities between traditional and tokenized forms without pulling the underlying assets out of DTC custody. The service was built with the DTCC Industry Working Group, which has grown past 100 members and partners.
The live event followed a no-action letter the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued seven months earlier, which authorized DTC to run a tokenization service for assets in its custody. DTCC plans to launch the service in October 2026, and whether the capability becomes durable market infrastructure will depend on regular participation, meaningful transaction volume and consistent performance across the networks.
Sources: DTCC, Bitcoin News
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