Wall Street giants are moving to blockchain: a historic step from the $114 trillion behemoth

The service offered by Depository Trust Company (DTC), a subsidiary of Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, one of the major infrastructure institutions of the U.S. financial markets, aims to move traditional financial assets into the digital realm using blockchain technology.

In the first phase, the system covering 34 securities will allow digital counterparts of shares, exchange‑traded funds (ETFs), and U.S. Treasury securities stored at DTC to be created on the blockchain. Institutional participants who meet the required conditions can benefit from the service.

JPMorgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley in the system

Among the 20 firms that signed agreements to join the new service are leading Wall Street financial companies. In addition to JPMorgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Barclays, Fidelity Investments, Citadel Securities, State Street, and UBS are also among the firms included in the system.

DTCC plans to bring new participants onto the platform in the coming period. This aims to broaden the use of assets traded in traditional financial markets on blockchain‑based infrastructures.

Tokens will be backed by real securities

Every digital token created in the system will be backed one‑to‑one by the corresponding security held within the DTC. This aims to preserve investors' ownership and economic rights as well as the existing investor protections.

Assets can be converted between the traditional record system and the tokenized form. This feature distinguishes itself from digital products that merely track a share's price without granting the investor ownership rights over the underlying share.

Although tokens can be transferred between digital wallets, official ownership records will remain within the DTC. Controls that ensure compliance with regulations will also be applied during transfer transactions.

Transfers can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Under the new service, tokenized securities can be transferred at any hour of the day over the same blockchain network between wallets registered with the DTC. In contrast, the initial tokenization of traditional securities will only occur during business hours.

DTCC aims to complete these conversion processes in 15 minutes or less. The system is expected to streamline asset transfers and reduce time loss in financial transactions.

New blockchain networks will be added in 2027.

In the first phase of the service, the DTCC's Besu-based private blockchain network will be used with Canton Network. The company plans to broaden the scope of supported networks in 2027.

The roadmap for the upcoming period also includes the Arc network developed by Stellar and Circle. By integrating the new networks into the system, the aim is to allow tokenized securities to be used across various digital infrastructures.

DTCC's assets under custody exceed $114 trillion.

DTCC aims to streamline asset transfers with the new service, expand liquidity access, and accelerate the use of securities as collateral.

The organization's custody arm DTC holds assets exceeding $114 trillion. However, this figure reflects DTC's total custody size; the total value of assets tokenized under the new service has not yet been disclosed.

DTCC is also planning to develop tools for settling transactions using digital currency and for evaluating tokenized securities as collateral, in addition to expanding network options.

The new initiative stands out as one of the steps toward integrating traditional financial markets with blockchain infrastructure. If the system becomes widespread, new possibilities may arise for transferring securities in digital environments and using them as collateral.