The organization that settles trades across America's securities markets is putting blockchain to a serious test. On Wednesday, DTCC launched a pilot in which nearly 40 financial institutions will experiment with tokenized stocks and U.S. Treasuries. The goal is to see how blockchain-based versions of these assets can operate inside the market plumbing that already exists.
What stands out is the lineup. The initiative brings in JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Vanguard and the New York Stock Exchange, meaning some of the biggest names in traditional finance are openly leaning into blockchain technology.
What DTCC Is Saying
“Today is the beginning of a long journey where we will demonstrate that the old and the new can live together, [and] that the technology enables a lot of opportunities for our participants worldwide,” said Nadine Chakar, global head of DTCC Digital Assets. “We're going to prove the value of tokenization and hopefully build the foundation that would lead to a scalable launch come October.”
How Big This Player Really Is
DTCC was formed in 1999 through the merger of the Depository Trust Company and the National Securities Clearing Corporation, and it has since become the backbone of U.S. securities markets. In 2025 alone, it processed $4.7 quadrillion in securities transactions.
The new pilot will put blockchain-based versions of stocks, exchange-traded funds and U.S. Treasuries held at DTCC through a range of real uses, including collateral management, repo transactions, margin and asset transfers. The exercise is meant to show that tokenized assets can slot into existing market infrastructure before a broader rollout later this year.
What Tokenization Actually Means
Tokenization is the process of creating blockchain-based representations of real-world assets, spanning stocks, bonds, U.S. Treasuries, commodities and even real estate. One important caveat: while these tokenized digital assets can be traded on cryptocurrency exchanges and apps, they do not necessarily give the holder legal ownership of the underlying asset.
A Fast-Building Trend
Interest in tokenized real-world assets has picked up sharply over the past year as traditional financial institutions widen their blockchain plans. In May 2025, real-world asset protocols crossed $10 billion in total value locked, and adoption has only sped up since. Earlier this month, the stock and cryptocurrency trading platform Robinhood rolled out Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built specifically for tokenized stocks, ETFs and other real-world assets.
