Morgan Stanley announced that it is among the first banks to begin using DTCC’s service to move U.S. stocks and Treasury securities onto the blockchain while preserving existing ownership rights.
According to CoinDesk, the bank has begun tokenizing securities through DTCC’s Tokenization Service (DTS), launched on October 28. This means the connection between the traditional infrastructure of the U.S. stock and bond markets and the blockchain is now being used in practice by a major investment bank.
DTCC is the organization that handles the clearing and settlement of most U.S. stock and bond transactions. Under the new service, the group’s depository, Depository Trust Company (DTC), creates digital tokens representing the securities it holds.
Rights are preserved as shares move to wallets
The service covers stocks in the Russell 1000 index, exchange-traded funds tracking major indexes, and U.S. Treasury securities. Participants can move between traditional and tokenized forms of securities and send tokens to their own digital wallets.
According to DTCC, these tokens carry the same ownership rights and investor protections as the securities they represent. The organization says tokenization could increase liquidity, make it easier to transfer collateral, and enable more efficient use of capital.
Launched on two blockchains, with more networks to follow
The system currently operates on Canton and DTCC’s private Besu network. More blockchains are planned to be added to the service in 2027. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter for the project in December 2025.
Amy Oldenburg, head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, said the experience of connecting tokenized securities with existing market infrastructure would guide the bank’s future digital asset work.
So far, 20 firms have signed up for the service. In addition to Morgan Stanley, the group includes J.P. Morgan, Citi, Bank of America, Fidelity, and Citadel Securities.
Not investment advice.