Focus on Seamless Interoperability
Nadine Chakar, Global Head of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), has stated that the company will prioritize seamless interoperability across blockchains rather than building closed ecosystems for tokenized securities. During a virtual forum on Thursday, Chakar emphasized that DTCC values interoperability and is not in the business of creating an environment where technical constraints hinder the smooth movement of digital assets between blockchains. "We’re not building walled gardens," Chakar said in a statement. She further elaborated, "Interoperability, for me, is being able to move things seamlessly from one chain to another, without risk or extra expenses." Chakar added that while messaging protocols facilitating communication within the traditional financial system may eventually become obsolete, they will continue to serve DTCC well as the company navigates a landscape where "every single day, you’ve got somebody launching a new L1."
DTCC Expands Tokenized Securities Across Multiple Blockchains
Chakar confirmed DTCC's commitment to collaborating with the institutional finance and digital assets sector on interoperability. Her remarks underscored the cautious approach the established institution is taking as it enters a market marked by sophisticated cyberattacks. To facilitate the tokenization of digital assets, DTCC announced last month its partnership with Canton Network, a permissioned blockchain specifically designed for institutional use. Brian Steele, the firm's managing director, explained that the decision to partner with Canton Network was driven by Wall Street's operational demands, aiming to provide after-hours financing and enhance liquidity for market makers.
Steele noted that while each blockchain will likely possess distinct features and environments suited for its intended purpose, DTCC will employ evaluation criteria for future expansions. These criteria include security and resilience, alongside customer demand.
“DTCC’s partnership with Digital Asset and the Canton Network is a strategic step forward as we collaborate across the industry to build a digital infrastructure that seamlessly bridges the traditional and digital financial ecosystems and provides unmatched scalability and safety.”
– Frank La Salla, CEO of DTCC.
Frank La Salla further stated that the partnership creates a pathway for bringing real-world, high-value tokenization use cases to market, starting with U.S. Treasury securities and eventually expanding to a wide range of DTC-eligible assets across various network providers. However, the concept has drawn criticism from some crypto-natives. Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, a digital asset securities company funded by BlackRock, questioned the tokens' status as representations of protected assets rather than being "native" to the network. In response, DTCC reiterated its primary objective: to enable customers to choose from a variety of blockchains, provided they adhere to stringent security and institutional resiliency standards.
In addition to Canton Network, DTCC has announced its intention to offer tokenized securities on "AppChain," an open-source, permissioned network for applications that is compatible with Ethereum.
SEC Approves DTCC’s Expanded ACS Triparty Clearing Service
As DTCC advances its tokenized securities strategy across multiple blockchains, the firm is concurrently expanding its traditional clearing services. On January 7, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) authorized DTCC to offer the ACS Triparty Service as an extension of its existing Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) Agent Clearing Service (ACS) offering. This development marks another phase in the organization's efforts to optimize both traditional and digital financial infrastructure.
The U.S. securities settlement firm revealed that FICC submitted a regulation to the SEC in September 2025 to introduce the ACS Triparty Service. With SEC approval, FICC is now empowered to provide a Triparty Agent Clearing Service to Agent Clearing Members and their Executing Firm Customers. Specifically, DTCC stated that FICC’s Agent Clearing Members will be able to submit eligible triparty repo transactions for clearing between their Executing Firm Customers and either the Agent Clearing Member ("done-with") or another Government Securities Division (GSD) Netting Member.
FICC will leverage BNY's global collateral infrastructure to deliver the ACS Triparty Service, facilitating both "done-with" and "done-away" cleared triparty repo trades, according to the U.S. securities settlement firm.