The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has announced a collaboration with the Stellar Development Foundation to introduce tokenization services for DTC custody assets on the Stellar public blockchain. This initiative aims to bring real-world assets onto a decentralized network, with the first tokenized instruments expected to go live in the first half of 2027. The move represents a significant step for traditional financial infrastructure, as DTCC leverages Stellar’s blockchain to handle settlement and issuance of tokenized securities.
This partnership follows a no-action letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2025, which provided DTCC with regulatory clarity to explore asset tokenization without requiring formal rule changes. The letter allows DTCC to treat tokenized instruments as extensions of its existing custody framework, as long as investor protections and record-keeping standards remain consistent with current securities laws.
The initial focus will be on highly liquid benchmark assets, including components of the Russell 1000 index, major ETFs tracking U.S. benchmarks, U.S. Treasuries, and various corporate bonds. These assets are already cleared through DTCC at scale, and their tokenized versions will be issued and settled on Stellar while remaining anchored to traditional registries and custody accounts. This ensures that regulatory compliance and beneficial ownership tracking are maintained.
Stellar was chosen for its design, which prioritizes regulated financial use cases, including fiat-backed stablecoins and cross-border payments. Its built-in support for KYC and AML measures aligns well with DTCC’s requirements for a compliant public blockchain. By integrating with Stellar, DTCC acknowledges that future securities settlement may increasingly occur on shared public infrastructure, moving beyond private test networks.
The tokenized assets will still operate within DTCC’s regulatory perimeter, with custodial records and ownership tracked to satisfy regulators and tax authorities. However, the settlement substrate changes from legacy databases and batch processes to near real-time settlement on Stellar, with programmable transfer rules and composability with other on-chain financial applications. This marks a pivotal moment for real-world asset tokenization, as it brings core U.S. capital market instruments to the blockchain under the oversight of a major market utility.