DTCC Enters On-Chain Finance With Tokenized U.S. Treasury Initiative
An announcement shared with Ecoinimist on Tuesday reveals that the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has partnered with Digital Asset Holdings and the Canton Network to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities custodied at The Depository Trust Company (DTC), marking a significant step in the modernization of core U.S. financial market infrastructure.
The initiative represents the first phase of DTCC’s broader strategy to enable securities to exist on-chain while remaining under DTC custody, bridging traditional post-trade systems with blockchain-based infrastructure.
The move follows DTCC’s recent receipt of a No-Action Letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing the firm to implement and operate a service for tokenizing real-world, DTC-custodied assets.
Tokenizing DTC-Custodied Treasurys
Under the partnership, DTCC plans to mint a subset of U.S. Treasury securities on the Canton Network, a blockchain designed to support regulated financial institutions with privacy and compliance features. The organizations are working toward launching a minimum viable product in a controlled production environment during the first half of 2026.
If successful, the project is expected to expand in size and scope in subsequent phases, depending on client interest. While the initial focus is on U.S. government debt, DTCC has indicated that the long-term roadmap could include a broader range of DTC-eligible assets across multiple network providers.
To enable the tokenization process, DTCC will use its ComposerX suite of platforms, which are designed to support digital workflows and interoperability across financial market infrastructure.
Bridging Traditional and Digital Markets
DTCC CEO Frank LaSalla described the collaboration as a foundational step in building a digital financial infrastructure that integrates seamlessly with existing markets.
“DTCC’s partnership with Digital Asset and the Canton Network is a strategic step forward as we collaborate across the industry to build a digital infrastructure that seamlessly bridges the traditional and digital financial ecosystems and provides unmatched scalability and safety,” LaSalla said. The CEO added that the initiative creates a roadmap for bringing high-value real-world tokenization use cases to market, beginning with U.S. Treasury securities.
Digital Asset co-founder and CEO Yuval Rooz said DTCC’s involvement reflects a collective industry push toward interoperable, future-proof financial systems. According to Rooz, the partnership lays the groundwork for new liquidity opportunities, innovative products, and meaningful operational improvements across capital markets.
A Phased, Regulated Rollout
The partners emphasized that the rollout will take place in phases, with a focus on delivering tangible benefits while maintaining strict regulatory alignment. By starting in a controlled production environment, DTCC aims to give market participants a clear path to adopting decentralized technologies without compromising the safety and resiliency of traditional market infrastructure.
The approach is designed to provide flexibility, allowing institutions to experiment with tokenized instruments while continuing to meet regulatory and risk management requirements.
DTCC Takes Governance Role in Canton Network
In addition to the tokenization initiative, DTCC will assume a leadership position within the Canton Network’s decentralized governance structure. The firm will join the Canton Foundation as co-chair alongside Euroclear, giving it a direct role in shaping industry-wide standards for decentralized financial infrastructure.
The governance role signals DTCC’s intent to influence how blockchain-based financial systems evolve, ensuring they align with the requirements of global market infrastructure and regulatory expectations.
From Pilot Programs to Production Infrastructure
While the full DTCC, Digital Asset, and Canton Network roadmap is expected to unfold over multiple years, the initial phase shows how quickly traditional financial institutions are moving beyond experimentation.
By anchoring tokenized assets to DTC custody and regulatory oversight, DTCC is positioning on-chain finance as a core component of mainstream market infrastructure rather than a peripheral innovation.
As tokenization efforts continue to accelerate across global capital markets, DTCC’s move underscores a broader shift toward blockchain-enabled settlement and asset management at the very center of the financial system.
