The world’s largest market infrastructure operators are warning that tokenized securities will struggle to scale unless the industry agrees on how blockchains and traditional financial systems connect.
In a joint white paper, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Euroclear and Clearstream, in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, argued that “interoperability is a prerequisite for digital asset security (DAS) adoption at scale.” Without it, they wrote, assets risk being trapped on isolated networks, leaving “operating costs high” and liquidity fragmented as trading volume grows.
The group stopped supporting a single technology. Instead, it framed the problem as structural. Dozens of public and permissioned blockchains are now hosting pilots and live products. Each uses their own standards, smart contract logic and settlement design. This diversity, the paper says, makes integration more difficult and increases operational and regulatory risk.
The authors rejected the idea that one dominant ledger will emerge. The operating model, they said, is shifting towards a “network of networks, with standards, gateways and regulated service providers” connecting digital and traditional systems. In that environment, assets must move across platforms while maintaining what the paper calls “asset integrity, ownership rights and lifecycle, with full compliance with law and regulation.”
They summed up the goal in a short phrase: “same asset, same rights, same result.”
The warning comes as tokenization gains traction in repo markets and pilot programs across the US and Europe. While onchain securities remain small compared to global equity and currency markets, the paper notes that large-scale infrastructure is already in motion, including more than $300 billion in daily repo activity across major platforms.
Still, many workflows depend on legacy rails. Tokenized bonds can be traded on-chain, but cash is often settled through real-time gross settlement systems or bank payment networks. Custodian banks and central securities depositories still keep books. The paper assumes that this coexistence will last for years.
The framework also extends beyond technical bridges. Interoperability, the authors argued, must cover assets and liabilities, recognition of ownership, lifecycle events, accounting finality and legal enforcement. Without alignment across these layers, cross-chain or cross-border transactions may require extra reconciliation steps that erode promised efficiencies.
The group encouraged regulators and market participants to develop working groups focused on governance, standards and resilience. “Collective action today will shape resilient markets tomorrow,” the paper said.
This push comes as major Wall Street firms argue that tokenization could reshape financial markets by enabling 24/7 trading, faster settlement and more efficient use of collateral. Executives at major banks and asset managers have said that blockchain-based rails could eventually reduce back-office costs and free up capital tied up in multi-day settlement cycles. Some have described tokenized assets as a path toward more integrated global markets, where cash and securities move in near real time.
The newspaper does not dispute this vision. Instead, it suggests that achieving it depends less on launching new chains and more on adapting the rules that govern them.
