Morgan Stanley has begun tokenizing U.S. equities and Treasury securities through DTCC’s newly launched service, becoming one of the first banks to use the infrastructure.
Summary
- Morgan Stanley has tokenized U.S. equities and Treasury securities through DTCC’s new blockchain-based tokenization service.
- DTCC launched the service on October 28 with 20 participating institutions, including JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
- The service allows eligible institutions to create digital representations of securities held in DTC custody while preserving existing ownership rights.
- Morgan Stanley separately plans to support tokenized equity trading through its alternative trading system in Q1 2027.
- DTCC initially supports Canton Network and a private Besu network, with additional blockchain integrations planned for 2027.
According to a November 4 announcement from the bank, the transactions involved converting traditional financial assets into blockchain-based representations through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s tokenization platform.
The development follows DTCC’s October 28 launch, which brought together 20 financial institutions to support the use of tokenized securities in regulated markets.
Morgan Stanley’s participation comes as the bank prepares to support tokenized equity trading through its alternative trading system in the first quarter of 2027.
Morgan Stanley begins tokenizing stocks and Treasuries
The bank confirmed that it had tokenized U.S. stocks and Treasury securities through DTCC’s infrastructure, following the service’s introduction last week.
Amy Oldenburg, Morgan Stanley’s head of digital assets strategy, said the bank would use its experience with tokenized securities to develop its digital asset operations.
“The hands-on experience of integrating tokenized securities with established market infrastructure will inform the continued development of the firm’s digital asset capabilities as the market evolves,” Oldenburg said.
Morgan Stanley has been developing systems that allow customers to hold and trade blockchain-based financial assets alongside traditional investments.
In October, crypto.news reported on its plans to support tokenized equities through its alternative trading system, or ATS, beginning in Q1 2027.
The timeline was revised from an earlier target of the second half of 2026, with Oldenburg explaining that the bank needed suitable products and additional infrastructure.
An ATS allows securities trading outside conventional public exchanges. Morgan Stanley expects to use the venue to support tokenized equities once the necessary systems are available.
The bank’s latest activity through DTCC is separate from that planned trading service, which has not yet launched.
DTCC opens tokenization service to 20 financial institutions
In its October 28 announcement, DTCC said its Tokenization Service allows eligible institutions to create blockchain representations of securities already held at the Depository Trust Company.
The service initially supports Canton Network and DTCC’s private Besu blockchain, with further network integrations scheduled for 2027.
Among the 20 participating institutions are JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Fidelity Investments, State Street and UBS.
The Depository Trust Company holds more than $114 trillion in assets under custody, although this figure represents its overall securities holdings, not the amount already tokenized.
Under the new system, eligible institutions can convert securities between traditional and tokenized formats and transfer the digital representations to supported wallets.
DTCC said tokenized securities retain the same economic entitlements, ownership rights and investor protections as their conventional counterparts.
The service covers eligible U.S. equities, Treasury securities and exchange-traded funds, following regulatory relief granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2025.
According to DTCC, the platform was developed with input from more than 150 firms. Its July production transactions included securities lending, collateral transfers and U.S. Treasury repurchase agreements.
Morgan Stanley builds infrastructure for tokenized asset trading
Morgan Stanley’s participation follows several months of work on digital asset infrastructure, including custody arrangements and blockchain-based financial products.
In September, the bank established a Digital Asset Lab to examine stablecoins, tokenized deposits, money market funds and decentralized finance applications.
The laboratory allows teams to study blockchain technology without introducing experimental systems directly into the bank’s main operations.
Morgan Stanley has been developing its own digital wallet infrastructure to help customers manage tokenized securities and other digital assets.
During an October interview at TOKEN2049, Oldenburg said institutional demand remained constrained because suitable tokenized products were not yet widely available.
She expected the tokenized real-world asset market to reach between $3 trillion and $10 trillion by 2030, identifying private shares, structured notes and investment funds as potential applications.
Meanwhile, the bank’s latest DTCC transactions give it experience with securities that already operate inside established market infrastructure.
NYSE expands plans for blockchain-based securities trading
Other established financial institutions are preparing their own tokenized securities services as banks develop trading and custody infrastructure.
On November 2, the New York Stock Exchange announced four additional transfer-agent partners for its proposed blockchain-based trading venue.
Broadridge, Computershare, Equiniti and Superstate joined Securitize and tZERO in supporting the planned platform.
The exchange’s proposed system would support continuous trading, immediate settlement and stablecoin-based funding while maintaining conventional shareholder rights.
As previously reported, the venue remains subject to regulatory approval, and NYSE has not announced a launch date.
The participating transfer agents will maintain ownership records and support shareholder services for securities represented on the blockchain.
NYSE said the proposed platform would accommodate issuer-sponsored tokenized securities and third-party custodial tokens, with access through participating broker-dealers.
