Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) Commits to Promoting Ethereum's ERC-3643 Standard

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) — the US's primary clearinghouse for securities transactions — has committed to promoting Ethereum's ERC-3643

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the U.S.'s primary clearinghouse for securities transactions, has committed to promoting Ethereum's ERC-3643 standard for permissioned securities tokens.

As announced on March 20, DTCC is joining the ERC3643 Association, a non-profit dedicated to catalyzing the standard's adoption with the goal of "promoting and advancing the ERC3643 token standard."

The endorsement highlights how U.S. regulators are now embracing tokenization after President Donald Trump vowed to make America the "world's crypto capital." It also suggests that the Ethereum blockchain network may play an important role in the U.S.'s permissioned security token ecosystem.

"The ERC3643 Association is thrilled to welcome DTCC as a member," said Dennis O'Connell, president of the ERC3643 Association. "Their involvement will be invaluable in helping to integrate the ERC3643 standard into the broader financial ecosystem."

The DTCC is a private organization closely overseen by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It handles the vast majority of the U.S.'s securities transactions and is a crucial component of the country's financial system. In 2023, the DTCC processed transactions with an aggregate notional value of $3 quadrillion, according to its annual report.

ERC-3643, also known as the T-REX Protocol, is "an open-source suite of smart contracts that enables the issuance, management, and transfer of permissioned tokens, even on permissionless blockchains," according to the ERC3643 Association's website. It relies on a custom-built decentralized identity protocol to ensure that only users meeting pre-specified conditions can become tokenholders.

"DTCC will help lead the future of tokenization and support institutional adoption at scale," added O'Connell.

The DTCC has been an early mover among U.S. financial overseers in piloting several initiatives related to onchain securities transactions. For example, it has been testing settling tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills on the Canton Network and piloting private asset tokenization on an Avalanche (AVAX) subnet.

Earlier this year, the clearinghouse launched ComposerX, a platform designed to streamline token creation and settlement for regulated U.S. financial institutions.

In November, the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) — a top U.S. financial regulator — tipped plans to explore similar technologies for onchain settlement in the derivatives markets.