HashKey Joins DTCC Digital Assets Working Group

HashKey brings Hong Kong experience to DTCC

The Hong Kong-based company will participate in discussions about how tokenized securities can be issued, transferred, settled, and safeguarded through institutional market infrastructure. HashKey said the working group now includes more than 100 financial institutions, asset managers, and digital asset companies. Participants named in its announcement include JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, and the New York Stock Exchange.

HashKey operates digital asset trading, asset management, and onchain infrastructure businesses across several regulated markets. Its operations include businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Bermuda. Since 2023, the company has participated in tokenization projects led by Hong Kong financial authorities. It is a member of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Project Ensemble Architecture Community, which examines how tokenized deposits and wholesale central bank money could support transactions involving tokenized assets.

HashKey's Hong Kong tokenization track record

HashKey has also joined Hong Kong's Tokenised Bond Expert Group. The company said it has supported the issuance and circulation of tokenized money market exchange traded funds, bonds, and structured notes. That experience is relevant to the DTCC group because Hong Kong has been testing institutional tokenization under a regulated framework. Hong Kong regulators have been developing tokenized fund and settlement infrastructure intended to connect digital assets with existing financial systems.

HashKey said it would contribute its Asia Pacific regulatory and operational experience to discussions on global tokenization standards. Its participation does not represent regulatory approval of a HashKey product, membership in DTC, or a commitment by DTCC to use HashKey infrastructure. The working group is advisory, and its members can provide technical and operational feedback without authority over DTCC's systems or guaranteed commercial access to the final service.

DTCC working group supports October service launch

DTCC formed the industry working group to advise the development of its tokenization service. The group includes banks, brokerages, asset managers, exchanges, custodians, and blockchain infrastructure companies. In its official May release, DTCC said participants would help examine product functionality, operational processes, and market standards. The work covers how eligible securities can move between traditional records and blockchain-based representations.

The service is designed to let DTC participants create tokenized versions of eligible securities already held in DTC custody. These representations are often described as digital twins because the underlying security remains within the regulated depository structure. Participants would be able to transfer tokenized securities to approved wallets and convert them between conventional and tokenized formats. DTCC says its model is intended to preserve the ownership rights and investor protections attached to the underlying securities.

Production transactions tested in July

DTCC completed its first group of tokenized transactions in a production environment in July. The tests used securities held at DTC and covered equity transfers, collateral pledges, securities lending, and delivery versus payment transactions involving U.S. Treasuries and repurchase agreements. The trials ran across DTCC's private blockchain based on Hyperledger Besu and the public Canton Network. Assets involved in the program reportedly included Microsoft and Circle shares, the Invesco QQQ Trust, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, and a BlackRock Treasury exchange traded fund.

JPMorgan also completed a conversion involving shares of the Invesco QQQ Trust, demonstrating how a security held at DTC could be represented through a blockchain-based record without removing the underlying asset from the established custody system. DTCC plans to introduce standardized tokenization services in October 2026. The initial service will include compliance and distribution controls, while later releases may add automation for issuance, servicing, and corporate actions. DTC is a central securities depository safeguarding more than $114 trillion in assets within its custody infrastructure.