DTCC & Stellar plan tokenised assets on public chain

DTCC and the Stellar Development Foundation plan to enable the tokenisation of DTC-custodied assets on the Stellar network, with those assets expected to be available in the first half of 2027.

The move extends DTCC's multi-chain digital assets strategy and links its planned tokenisation service to a public blockchain already used in financial applications. It follows a no-action letter from the US Securities and Exchange Commission authorising DTC to implement and operate a service to tokenise real-world assets held in custody.

Under the arrangement, tokenised assets issued through DTC's service would carry the same investor protections, entitlements and safeguards as securities traditionally held at DTC. The integration is intended to support the conversion of traditional assets into tokenised form across the asset lifecycle, including corporate actions and reporting.

The announcement offers a clearer view of how DTCC plans to connect regulated post-trade infrastructure with public blockchain networks. DTC sits at the centre of US market plumbing, so any extension of its custody and settlement model into tokenised assets is likely to draw close attention from banks, brokers and asset managers as they test how conventional securities might move across digital networks.

In the meantime, the two organisations will assess tokenisation use cases for eligible asset classes. These may include highly liquid assets such as Russell 1000 constituents, exchange-traded funds tracking major indices, and US Treasury bills, bonds and notes, subject to DTC's regulatory obligations.

That focus on liquid securities suggests DTCC is starting with instruments that already have deep markets and established operational processes. It also points to an effort to test tokenisation where institutional demand is likely to be strongest and operational reliability matters most.

"This collaboration represents another step forward in DTCC's efforts to build an open, interoperable digital infrastructure that bridges traditional and digital markets," said Frank La Salla, President and Chief Executive Officer of DTCC.

"We are committed to expanding opportunities for market participants to utilize tokenized assets to access deeper liquidity, achieve greater efficiency and increase transparency on a public blockchain, while retaining the same investor protections and safeguards participants are used to today for traditionally held assets at DTC. Tokenization can enable new levels of transaction and capital efficiency, observability and collateral mobility as well as support extended trading hours."

Public chain link

For Stellar, the tie-up brings in a major market infrastructure provider to a network that has sought to position itself for regulated financial use. The foundation said Stellar has already been used for securities, payments and remittances, and the DTCC plan would create a direct route between the blockchain and assets held within established custody systems.

"DTCC is the backbone of global capital markets, and integrating their tokenisation service with Stellar connects public blockchain networks to regulated market infrastructure," said Denelle Dixon, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation.

"Stellar's proven compliance-minded architecture, open infrastructure and risk management capabilities are aligned with market demands and expectations. Our network was built for this moment - we have always believed that blockchain's utility for finance is to be the rail that institutional-grade markets can depend on."

The initiative comes as financial market groups continue to explore whether tokenised securities can reduce friction in settlement, collateral movement and secondary trading. While many pilot projects have remained limited in scope, DTCC's role in post-trade processing gives its decisions more weight than those of smaller blockchain ventures.

DTCC is approaching tokenisation as a market infrastructure project rather than a standalone digital asset initiative. It has framed the work as part of a broader push to build open connections across multiple blockchain networks instead of relying on a single chain.

"DTCC is focused on unlocking opportunities to drive tokenisation safely, fairly and at scale to help market participants improve capital efficiency, liquidity and resilience across global markets within a trusted, regulated framework," said Brian Steele, Managing Director and President of Clearing & Securities Services at DTCC. "We are leveraging our 50+ years of expertise in clearing and settlement to galvanise the industry and foster collaboration across a wide cross-section of market players to enable tokenisation of real-world assets."

Scale and scope

DTCC's existing footprint underlines why the development matters for market participants weighing whether tokenisation can move beyond small-scale tests. In 2025, its subsidiaries processed securities transactions worth USD $4.7 quadrillion, while its depository subsidiary provided custody and asset servicing for securities issues from more than 150 countries and territories valued at USD $114 trillion.

Those figures show the scale of the infrastructure required for any eventual tokenised service and the operational standards institutional users are likely to expect. They also highlight the challenge of bringing digital asset models into systems built around regulation, investor protection and high-volume processing.

"We're developing and expanding the Web3 ecosystem by creating a truly interoperable tokenisation service to connect traditional market liquidity with digital rails," said Nadine Chakar, Managing Director and Global Head of DTCC Digital Assets. "Stellar's proven track record with institutional assets onchain is an important factor in our evaluation of blockchain networks. Its emphasis on compliance, transaction throughput and low-cost operations meets our rigorous standards and will help ensure we're ready for growth as usage of blockchain networks for real-world assets transactions increases. We are excited to integrate multiple L1 and L2 networks to ensure interoperability and open access for users of the DTC tokenisation service."