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Independent UK news and guides on tokenised equity, for founders raising capital, investors and the firms that support them. Published by Tokenisation Group Limited, London. Information only, not financial advice.

Morgan Stanley starts tokenising US stocks and Treasuries on DTCC

Writer: Shawn Jhanji
Shawn Jhanji
23 hours ago
3 min read

Morgan Stanley announced yesterday that it has started using the DTCC tokenisation service to create blockchain versions of US stocks and Treasuries, making it one of the first banks live on the system. The service opened on 28 October 2026 and 20 institutions have signed up so far.


Morgan Stanley and DTCC tokenisation infrastructure represented through glowing digital securities, against a contemporary financial district backdrop framed by autumn foliage.

The practical reading is that the plumbing is ahead of the shopfront. Custody and settlement are live, while Morgan Stanley's own venue for trading tokenised US equities has slipped to 2027. For UK founders, nothing here yet that lets a private company tokenise its shares.


What Morgan Stanley has switched on at DTCC

Morgan Stanley made the announcement in a post on X and Amy Oldenburg, its head of digital assets strategy, said the experience of integrating tokenised securities with established market infrastructure will inform the bank's continued digital asset work.


DTCC is the company that clears and settles most US stock and bond trades. Its subsidiary, the Depository Trust Company, mints tokens that represent securities it already holds, and DTCC states that the tokens keep the same ownership rights and investor protections as the originals. Holders can swap between the traditional and token forms and move tokens to their own digital wallets.


The Depository Trust Company holds approximately $114 trillion in assets under custody. Eligible assets include Russell 1000 stocks, exchange traded funds that track major indexes, and US Treasuries, so the service covers tokenised Treasuries and tokenised US equities from large listed issuers only.


A timeline from SEC letter to Canton Network

Four other dates frame the launch. In December 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a no-action letter, in which staff say they will not recommend enforcement action, clearing the project to go ahead. The service went live on 28 October 2026, Morgan Stanley announced its use on 4 November 2026, and DTCC plans to add more blockchains in 2027.


Two networks already run today: the Canton Network, a blockchain used by financial institutions, and DTCC's own private network built on Besu software. The DTCC says more than 150 firms gave input on the design.


So far, twenty firms have joined, including Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan, State Street, UBS and Citadel Securities, with more to be added on a rolling basis. No trading volumes or token counts have been disclosed, so the launch shows that the pipes work, but not that anyone yet relies on them.


NYSE transfer agents and tokenised US equities

Morgan Stanley expects to support tokenised equities on its alternative trading system in the first quarter of 2027, later than its earlier target of the second half of 2026. An alternative trading system is a regulated trading venue that is not a stock exchange.


The New York Stock Exchange and its parent, Intercontinental Exchange, are building a tokenised trading platform of their own. Broadridge, Computershare, Equiniti and Superstate have signed on as transfer agents, the firms that keep the official record of who owns a company's shares. Broadridge recently added Kraken as a tokenisation client and plans to add voting to the NYSE platform.


Barclays and the UK reading for founders

Barclays is the UK-headquartered bank currently listed among the named participants, and neither DTCC nor Morgan Stanley has given a UK date. The UK is running its own track: the London Stock Exchange Group became a super validator on the Canton Network, and the Treasury has named six lead managers for DIGIT, the UK's first digital gilt.


For startups founders, the eligible list is an interesting detail. Russell 1000 companies are large US listed firms, so a UK startup cannot tokenise its shares through this service today. What the launch does set is a benchmark: legal ownership stays with the existing record, holders can swap back to the traditional form, and a regulated transfer agent sits in the chain. Any UK route for private company shares will likely be judged against those three features.


A fair counter-argument is that one week of live operation proves little. Three things to watch: the date Morgan Stanley gives for its venue, which blockchains DTCC names for 2027, and whether a UK custodian joins the participant list.


Key takeaways

  • Morgan Stanley said on 4 November 2026 that it is among the first banks to tokenise US equities and Treasuries through DTCC.

  • DTCC's tokenisation service went live on 28 October 2026 with 20 institutions signed up, on the Canton Network and a private Besu network.

  • Morgan Stanley now expects its alternative trading system to support tokenised equities in the first quarter of 2027, not the second half of 2026.

  • Eligible assets are Russell 1000 stocks, index-tracking exchange traded funds and US Treasuries, so UK private company shares are outside the service.



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