Recently studying the U.S. stock system, I found some perspectives that intersect with Web3.

U.S. stocks are both T+0 and T+1.
Trading system: can buy and sell at any time (T+0 trading).
- Intuitive feeling: clicking sell on a mobile app, the account balance will change immediately, and you can use this money to buy another stock right away.
- Essence: this is just the broker providing real-time credit limits on the front end, making traders feel the money has already arrived.
Settlement system: transfer of asset ownership (T+1 settlement).
- Intuitive feeling: although you can trade the next stock immediately after selling, if you want to withdraw this money from the broker to your bank card, you usually need to wait until the next business day.
- Essence: on the DTCC ledger, the ownership of this stock is officially transferred from the seller to you, which also takes one business day.
Although Web3 is accustomed to instant on-chain settlement, achieving true T+0 settlement in traditional finance—i.e., atomic settlement—faces several challenges:
- Netting: DTCC offsets thousands of buy and sell transactions, only settling the net difference. If every transaction were settled instantly, it would put huge pressure on liquidity.
- Fault tolerance: T+1 gives both parties a window to correct errors, confirm funds, and handle technical failures.
- Compliance and review: cross-border money laundering checks and regulatory compliance require processing time.
From the above explanation, it’s not hard to see the importance of DTCC, the “Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation,” which can be viewed as the core backend of the global financial market.
Figure 1 explains in detail how DTCC works, as well as its collaboration with its subsidiaries, NASDAQ and NYSE.
(For more detailed content, see the original text, which is very helpful for understanding the principles of the U.S. stock market.)

Recently, DTCC announced substantial progress in its tokenization services, with a pilot scheduled for July 2026 and full rollout in October.
It involved over 50 top institutions, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Ondo, with Backpack, a digital currency exchange, also listed.
The goal of DTCC’s tokenization service is to digitize the existing $114 trillion asset pool, which mainly consists of core assets:
- U.S. blue-chip stocks: all components of the Russell 1000 index.
- Mainstream ETFs: exchange-traded funds tracking major indices.
- U.S. Treasuries: including T-Bills, Bonds, and Notes.
DTCC’s core intention is to leverage its monopolistic custody position to turn U.S. stocks and bonds into on-chain collateral.
For top institutions like Backpack, this is an important event to promote liquidity expansion.