Wall Street’s Plumbing Goes Onchain as Morgan Stanley Tokenizes Securities
Morgan Stanley has begun tokenizing U.S. stocks and Treasuries through DTCC’s Tokenization Service, which converts securities held at the Depository Trust Co. into blockchain-based digital twins that can be moved to wallets and converted back. The tokens are designed to retain the original securities’ ownership rights and protections, while enabling faster collateral transfers and access to liquidity. The service launched in October and currently operates on Canton Network and DTCC’s private Besu network. Morgan Stanley is among 20 participating firms; DTCC says more than 150 helped develop it. The SEC permitted the service through a 2025 no-action letter. The institutional initiative contrasts with crypto-native tokenized-stock plans facing issuer objections, while tokenized shares remain less liquid and more volatile than traditional stocks.
