DTCC and Citadel launch tokenized securities, focusing on Ripple and the US$114 trillion market

The American Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Castle Securities launched tokenized securities, focusing on the US$114 trillion market

The American Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), as the major financial market infrastructure provider, handles the clearing and settlement of almost all U.S. stock and bond transactions. The company has now launched equity conversion and tokenization infrastructure in a production environment for the first time. Leading market maker Citadel Securities, which manages approximately $69 billion in assets, will be among the first to participate in the launch.

Castle Securities's role and its connection with Ripple

Castle Securities's participation has attracted much attention due to its significant association with Ripple and XRP ledgers. In October 2025, Castle Securities and Fortress jointly made a strategic investment of US$500 million in Ripple. This move is in line with Ripple's strategy of continuing to promote the adoption of blockchain technology institutions. As blockchain analyst SMQKE detailed, Castle Securities's cooperation with Ripple coincides with a series of major milestones for the financial technology company, including high-profile acquisitions and the integration of RLUSD, a stablecoin used for on-chain settlement.

DTCC's traditional infrastructure supports approximately US$114 trillion in securities. This huge scale has sparked speculation about how much liquidity a proven blockchain platform like XRP ledger can provide for the instant settlement of tokenized assets.

Institutions -- Asset size involved -- Key blockchain associations
DTCC --US$114 trillion (traditional securities)--tokenized settlement track
Castle Securities--US$69 billion asset management scale--Ripple/XRP ledger

Small Dictionary: DTCC (American Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation) is a core participant in the U.S. market and is responsible for simplifying the clearing and settlement process of stocks, bonds and other assets, which is crucial to maintaining Wall Street's financial stability and efficiency.

Tokenization and Market Impact

The first phase of DTCC tokenization transactions is now underway, but the broad impact on the real asset (RWA) market remains to be seen. Castle Securities's investment in Ripple has positioned XRP's on-demand liquidity (ODL) solutions as a cornerstone of the ecosystem. At the same time, SWIFT's recently launched multi-chain digital ledger allows interoperability across multiple blockchains, potentially extending the network scope of such infrastructure projects beyond XRP ledgers.

Ripple's influence continues to grow through regulatory victories and the expansion of institutional applications. After acquiring GTreasury in 2023, Ripple handled US$13 trillion in transaction volume without directly involving cryptocurrencies. Observers expect that as the tokenization of traditional assets advances, blockchain networks such as XRP ledgers are expected to account for a larger share of new financial flows.

Ripple's own U.S. dollar stablecoin RLUSD has exceeded US$1.5 billion just one year after its launch. If the Clarification Act, a key digital asset policy proposal, is approved, RLUSD will play a more prominent role in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.

Small Dictionary: RLUSD is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar launched by Ripple that aims to enable fast and reliable transactions through XRP ledgers while supporting traditional and crypto-native payment flows.

Ripple's legal battle and Wall Street integration

Recent regulatory developments have excited the XRP community, and Ripple has achieved a major victory in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit. Ripple's chief technology officer David Schwartz (pseudonym "Joel Katz") emphasized the far-reaching impact of the legal battle through a widely shared post on the X platform, clarified the complex handling of XRP sales under securities regulations, and quoted relevant remarks by former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. David Schwartz pointed out that all XRP transactions are treated as securities by regulators, challenging the claim that "only certain unregistered sales are reviewed" and cited Gary Gensler's previous comments as background.

DTCC described its collaboration with Castle Securities as "a significant milestone marking the largest tokenized production initiative in terms of use case scope, asset classes and number of participants." This has sparked speculation about whether the XRP ledger, which has previously been capable of supporting billions of dollars in daily transaction volume, can scale and handle a significant share of the $114 trillion in tokenization opportunities.

Castle Securities, as a private financial services company, does not publicly disclose its full valuation (data may vary from source to source). However, its direct partnership with Ripple shows that the company is actively seeking to capture a larger share of the emerging tokenized financial infrastructure built around the DTCC backbone. As Wall Street continues to advance asset listing, market participants are paying close attention to how much of this huge wave of tokenization will flow to mature blockchain networks such as XRP ledgers.