How the DTCC is Tokenizing $100 Trillions in Assets | Tom Sullivan
From The Defiant by The Defiant
March 20, 2026 · 43 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the DTCC's approach to tokenizing assets and the implications for the U.S. securities market.
What happens when the institution at the center of U.S. market plumbing starts putting securities onchain? In this episode of The Defiant, Chris Storaker sits down with Tom Sullivan, Managing Director at DTCC Digital Assets, to discuss how DTCC is approaching tokenization, why regulatory clarity changed the game, and what it means for U.S. Treasuries, stocks, ETFs, collateral, and 24/7 markets. Tom explains DTCC’s role as the trusted infrastructure behind much of the U.S. securities market, why blockchain has become a real infrastructure priority, and how tokenized assets could improve collateral mobility, settlement efficiency, and capital efficiency across global markets. They also cover: why SEC clarity was a major unlock what exactly DTCC is tokenizing how tokenized assets will retain full legal and economic rights why collateral is one of the biggest near-term use cases how DTCC sees interoperability, appchains, and a multi-ledger future what success looks like for the Q3 rollout and beyond If tokenization is moving from experiment to market infrastructure, this conversation shows what that looks like from the inside.
People in this episode
Host: Chris Storaker
Guest: Tom Sullivan
Topics covered
- tokenization
- blockchain
- U.S. market infrastructure
- collateral mobility
- settlement efficiency
- capital efficiency
Keywords
- tokenization
- DTCC
- blockchain
- U.S. Treasuries
- ETFs
- collateral
- market infrastructure
- settlement
- regulatory clarity
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: DTCC, SEC, DTCC Digital Assets
Places: U.S., U.S. securities market
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