In just a few months, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation — the backbone of custody and settlement in U.S. markets — will roll out its tokenization service as it gathers feedback from firms like BlackRock and Circle.

On Monday, in a statement, DTC said it would facilitate "initial, limited production trades of real-world assets" in July 2026, ahead of the service's launch in October.

The Securities and Exchange Commission greenlit the new service late last year through a No-Action Letter, allowing DTC to begin offering participants the ability to tokenize certain highly liquid assets on pre-approved blockchains under a three-year authorization period. Those assets include ones on the Russell 1000,  ETFs tracking major U.S. equity indices, and U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, and notes.

Interest in tokenization has surged as financial firms explore bringing traditional assets on-chain, a shift that could enable 24/7 trading and faster settlement. However, some industry participants have urged for more regulatory safeguards.

Over the past year, under a crypto-friendly Trump administration, the SEC has been working on an "innovation exemption" that could function as a regulatory sandbox for onchain assets. The SEC has said that tokenized securities are still securities and need to follow securities law.

"Our vision is coming to fruition: launching our tokenization service and successfully bridging TradFi and DeFi," said Frank La Salla, DTCC President and CEO, on Monday in the statement. "We believe tokenization will significantly change how markets work and operate, bringing new levels of liquidity, transparency and efficiency to investors."

Over 50 firms will participate in the DTCC Industry Working Group, including an array of asset managers, brokers, and trading venues. Morgan Stanley, Nasdaq, Kraken parent company Payward, and Robinhood Markets are among those participating.