Morgan Stanley has become one of the first major U.S. banks to tokenize traditional financial assets through the newly launched Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) Tokenization Service, converting U.S. equities and Treasury securities into blockchain-based digital representations. The announcement, made on November 3, comes less than a week after DTCC officially launched the service on October 28 with 20 participating financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America, Fidelity Investments and UBS. The initiative marks a significant milestone in Wall Street’s adoption of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, allowing traditional securities to move between conventional financial infrastructure and blockchain networks while preserving existing ownership rights and investor protections. With DTCC’s depository subsidiary holding more than $114 trillion in assets under custody, the development could accelerate the integration of blockchain technology into global financial markets.
Morgan Stanley Becomes Early Adopter of DTCC Tokenization Service
On November 3, Morgan Stanley confirmed that it had begun using DTCC’s new blockchain infrastructure to tokenize U.S. equities and Treasury securities.
The investment banking giant announced the milestone through a post on X, positioning itself among the first financial institutions to use the service following its official launch.
Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley’s Head of Digital Assets Strategy, explained that working directly with tokenized securities within established financial market infrastructure would help guide the bank’s future digital asset development.
The initiative allows Morgan Stanley to gain practical experience integrating blockchain-based assets into existing securities operations rather than relying exclusively on experimental environments.
Although the bank confirmed that it had tokenized equities and Treasuries, it did not disclose the specific securities involved, the value of the assets converted or whether the tokens were being held for institutional clients or the bank itself.
The announcement represents another step in Morgan Stanley’s broader strategy to incorporate blockchain technology into traditional investment products and financial services.
DTCC Launches Tokenization Platform With 20 Major Financial Institutions
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which operates critical infrastructure supporting U.S. securities markets, officially launched its DTCC Tokenization Service (DTS) on October 28.
The platform was developed through collaboration with more than 150 financial and technology companies, providing a framework for institutions to create blockchain-based representations of securities already held within DTCC’s custody system.
At launch, 20 institutions had signed agreements to access the platform, including several of the world’s largest banks and financial services companies.
Major participants include:
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Bank of America
Citi, Barclays and BNP Paribas
Fidelity Investments, State Street and UBS
Citadel Securities, Brown Brothers Harriman and Apex Clearing Corporation
Other participants include Alpaca, Clear Street, DriveWealth, Edward Jones, Interchange Clearing, Marex, Mirae Asset Securities, Velocity Capital and Interchange Clearing.
DTCC plans to onboard additional financial institutions on a rolling basis as adoption expands.
The service represents a major transition for an organization that has traditionally operated behind the scenes of financial markets, handling the clearing, settlement and custody of securities.
Its subsidiary, the Depository Trust Company (DTC), currently maintains more than $114 trillion in assets under custody, making it one of the most important securities infrastructure providers in the world.
How DTCC’s Blockchain Tokenization Service Works
The new platform allows eligible financial institutions to create digital representations of traditional securities already held within DTC’s custody infrastructure.
These blockchain-based assets, often called digital twins, represent existing financial instruments rather than newly issued or synthetic investment products.
For example, an eligible institution holding shares of a publicly traded company through DTC can convert its securities entitlement into a tokenized representation recorded on an approved blockchain network.
The institution can later convert that tokenized position back into its traditional form.
Importantly, DTCC states that tokenized securities retain the same economic and legal rights associated with their conventional counterparts.
These protections include ownership rights, dividend entitlements where applicable and existing investor safeguards.
The platform is designed to support several potential improvements to traditional financial markets:
Faster settlement: Reducing the time required to transfer eligible securities between approved participants.
Improved collateral mobility: Allowing institutions to move tokenized assets more efficiently to support financial transactions.
Greater capital efficiency: Reducing operational delays and potentially freeing assets that would otherwise remain tied up during settlement processes.
Blockchain interoperability: Supporting movement between conventional securities infrastructure and approved blockchain environments.
While these capabilities could eventually support broader trading and settlement opportunities, DTCC’s initial rollout operates within a controlled institutional framework rather than providing unrestricted public access to tokenized securities.
Canton Network and Hyperledger Besu Power Initial Blockchain Integration
DTCC’s tokenization infrastructure initially operates across two blockchain environments: the Canton Network and DTCC’s private Hyperledger Besu network.
Canton is designed specifically for institutional financial applications, offering privacy, interoperability and transaction coordination capabilities.
Its architecture allows financial institutions to interact through blockchain infrastructure while maintaining confidentiality around sensitive transactions and business information.
Hyperledger Besu, meanwhile, provides an Ethereum-compatible blockchain framework that can operate in private, permissioned environments.
By supporting both networks, DTCC aims to establish an interoperable infrastructure that can connect different blockchain ecosystems without forcing financial institutions to rely on a single platform.
The organization has also announced plans to integrate additional blockchain networks in 2027, potentially expanding the number of institutions and applications capable of interacting with tokenized securities.
The development is particularly significant for Canton, which has positioned itself as a leading blockchain network for institutional real-world asset tokenization.
As more traditional financial institutions adopt blockchain infrastructure, networks capable of meeting regulatory, privacy and operational requirements could play an increasingly important role in financial markets.
SEC Approval Opens Door for Tokenized Stocks, ETFs and Treasuries
DTCC’s tokenization initiative follows an important regulatory development involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In December 2025, the SEC issued a no-action letter allowing DTC to proceed with a controlled tokenization program involving certain securities held within its existing custody system.
The regulatory relief covers several major categories of financial assets:
U.S. equities: Stocks belonging to companies within the Russell 1000 Index.
Exchange-traded funds: ETFs tracking major U.S. market indices.
U.S. Treasury securities: Treasury bills, notes and bonds.
The authorization operates under specified conditions and provides a three-year regulatory framework for the service.
Rather than replacing traditional securities laws, the initiative allows approved blockchain-based representations to operate while maintaining existing investor protections and ownership rights.
The regulatory framework was instrumental in allowing DTCC to move from early-stage blockchain experimentation into a production service available to participating institutions.
It also demonstrates how established financial infrastructure providers are working with regulators to integrate blockchain technology into conventional securities markets.
Morgan Stanley Targets Tokenized Stock Trading in Early 2027
Morgan Stanley’s participation in DTCC’s service is part of a larger digital asset strategy that includes plans to support tokenized equities through its own trading infrastructure.
The bank expects to introduce support for tokenized equities on its alternative trading system (ATS) during the first quarter of 2027.
This represents a revised timeline from the company’s earlier target of launching the service during the second half of 2026.
An alternative trading system allows eligible participants to trade securities outside traditional public stock exchanges while operating within applicable regulatory requirements.
By integrating tokenized equities into this infrastructure, Morgan Stanley could eventually provide institutional clients with additional ways to access and manage blockchain-based financial assets.
The bank has also established a Digital Asset Lab to research and test emerging blockchain technologies before introducing them into its broader financial operations.
The laboratory has explored technologies and financial products involving stablecoins, tokenized deposits, decentralized finance and digital asset infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley is also developing proprietary wallet technology designed to help clients interact with blockchain-based assets without requiring them to manage the technical complexities of cryptocurrency wallets directly.
These initiatives suggest that the bank views tokenization as a long-term expansion of its traditional securities business rather than a standalone cryptocurrency experiment.
Wall Street Banks Accelerate Race to Tokenize Traditional Financial Assets
Morgan Stanley’s announcement comes as major financial institutions compete to establish themselves within the growing market for tokenized real-world assets.
JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions have already participated in blockchain-based securities initiatives involving tokenized equities, exchange-traded funds and Treasury instruments.
In July, DTCC conducted limited-production transactions involving tokenized securities, demonstrating how traditional financial assets could be represented and transferred through blockchain infrastructure.
JPMorgan participated by tokenizing a portion of its holdings in the Invesco QQQ Trust, while other early activities involved securities connected to major U.S. companies and investment funds.
Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and its parent company, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), are developing their own infrastructure for tokenized securities trading.
Companies including Broadridge, Computershare, Equiniti and Superstate have also agreed to participate in the emerging ecosystem as transfer agents.
These developments indicate that blockchain tokenization is increasingly becoming a strategic priority across traditional finance.
Rather than competing solely with cryptocurrency-native platforms, major banks are exploring ways to incorporate blockchain technology into existing financial products and regulatory structures.
Morgan Stanley’s Move Could Transform the Future of Securities Trading
The launch of DTCC’s tokenization service and Morgan Stanley’s early participation represent an important step toward connecting traditional financial markets with blockchain infrastructure.
For decades, securities transactions have depended on interconnected systems involving brokers, custodians, clearinghouses and settlement providers.
Although these systems are highly developed, transferring assets between institutions can still involve operational delays, fragmented records and capital requirements.
Tokenization introduces the possibility of representing financial assets on shared digital infrastructure, potentially improving transparency, settlement efficiency and collateral management.
The ability to convert securities between traditional and blockchain-based forms could also help financial institutions adopt new technology without abandoning existing market structures.
However, significant challenges remain, including regulatory compliance, interoperability, cybersecurity, liquidity and the integration of blockchain networks with legacy financial systems.
The technology’s broader impact will depend on whether financial institutions can demonstrate meaningful operational improvements at scale.
For Morgan Stanley, participation in DTCC’s new service provides an opportunity to test those benefits while preparing for its planned tokenized equity trading capabilities in 2027.
For the broader cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, the development demonstrates that real-world asset tokenization is moving beyond pilot programs and into regulated financial infrastructure.
With some of Wall Street’s largest institutions now participating and more than $114 trillion in securities held within DTC’s custody system, the potential long-term market for tokenized financial assets is substantial.
That figure represents the size of DTC’s existing custody infrastructure, not the amount of securities already tokenized.
As blockchain adoption expands across traditional finance, DTCC’s platform could become a critical bridge between conventional securities markets and the next generation of digital asset infrastructure.
