DTCC details tokenization service: 25 securities, Canton first

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the plumbing behind most U.S. securities settlement, has set out what its new Tokenization Service will offer on day one: 25 securities that can be turned into blockchain tokens, each backed one-for-one by assets held at its Depository Trust Company (DTC). A one-page overview released this week also puts the pool of assets eligible for tokenization at about $30 trillion and sketches a roadmap through 2027.

What goes live at launch

• Assets: 25 securities drawn from Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs and U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, starting with selected large names and expanding over time.
• Networks: the public Canton Network (CIP-56 token standard) and DTCC's own private network built on Besu (ERC-20).
• Conversions: orders through a web interface and API between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET on business days, with a target of 15 minutes or less.
• Same security, new wrapper: tokens keep the original CUSIP identifier and the same rights and investor protections as book-entry holdings. DTC's books remain the official record.
• Transfers: 24/7 peer-to-peer moves between DTC-registered wallets on the same network, using compliance-enabled tokens with transfer restrictions.
• Servicing: Treasury interest and maturities are handled on-chain, but paid in fiat to participants' traditional accounts.

Why it matters

The $30 trillion figure is roughly a quarter of the more than $114 trillion in assets DTC holds, as Canton News noted — so even a small take-up would dwarf today's on-chain markets for tokenized funds and Treasuries. The project builds on July's production run, when DTCC said more than 30 firms traded tokenized securities across Canton and Besu, and on deals such as BNY and Citadel Securities' tokenized Treasury trade.

The choice of networks is telling: a privacy-focused network built for financial institutions and a chain DTCC runs itself. Ethereum mainnet and other open networks are not on the launch list, although DTCC says more networks will follow "aligned with client and market demand."

What's next

DTCC has said the service will start in October. Its overview notes that scope and timing depend on the applicable SEC no-action letter, and that features such as on-chain settlement, collateral and digital cash will be prioritised during 2027 with input from participants and the wider industry.