In a landmark development for the digital asset ecosystem, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has revealed that its subsidiary, The Depository Trust Company (DTC), has received a No-Action Letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This authorization allows DTC to begin offering a tokenization service for real-world assets held in its custody an important step toward integrating traditional financial markets with blockchain-based infrastructure. The service is expected to begin rolling out in the second half of 2026.
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The SEC’s approval gives DTC a three-year window to operate its tokenization service within a controlled production environment and on pre-approved blockchains. Under this framework, DTC will be able to tokenize highly liquid assets including the Russell 1000, ETFs tracking major indices, and U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds while ensuring that their digital equivalents carry the exact same rights, protections, and ownership structures as traditional securities. DTCC emphasized that the tokenized ecosystem will maintain the same operational resiliency and safeguards that underpin today’s regulated markets.
Frank La Salla, President & CEO of DTCC, called the authorization a pivotal milestone. “Tokenizing the U.S. securities market has the potential to yield transformational benefits such as collateral mobility, new trading modalities, 24/7 access and programmable assets,” he said. “But this can only happen if market infrastructure provides the stability to usher in a new digital era. We appreciate the SEC’s trust and look forward to safely advancing tokenization on behalf of the industry.”
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The No-Action Letter accelerates DTCC’s broader vision to build a secure, transparent, and interoperable digital asset ecosystem powered by blockchain technology. Brian Steele, Managing Director and President of Clearing & Securities Services at DTCC, noted that this initiative builds on decades of innovation: “Our tokenization initiative will allow us to collaborate across the market to usher in digital securities with strong security, legal clarity, and interoperability—all backed by the resilience of traditional markets.”
DTCC’s tokenization service will rely on its ComposerX platform suite, enabling DTC Participants and their clients to bridge traditional and decentralized financial systems. The goal is to create a unified liquidity pool that enhances efficiency, inclusivity, and cost savings across global markets.
Nadine Chakar, Managing Director and Head of Digital Assets at DTCC, emphasized that distributed ledger technology has the potential to fundamentally reshape market infrastructure. “Our DLT-based offerings will form the backbone of DTCC’s tokenization strategy,” she said. “Together with industry partners, we’re building a digital asset ecosystem designed for the future.”
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DTCC has spent nearly a decade researching and experimenting with blockchain and distributed ledger capabilities alongside industry partners, focusing on how features such as cross-border mobility, decentralization of access, and programmable smart contracts could be applied without compromising regulatory protections.
Under the SEC’s authorization, DTC will be permitted to support tokenization across approved Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain networks. Details on onboarding, wallet registration, and network approval processes will be released in the coming months as DTCC prepares to operationalize the initiative.
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