The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation ( DTCC ), the New York-based post-trade services provider, has launched an industry sandbox for the scalable adoption of digital assets.

As an open ecosystem, the DTCC Digital Launchpad will allow market participants, technology providers, and others to work together to identify and collaborate on relevant pilot projects.

Tokenization of assets presents a monumental business opportunity for financial markets, with projections valuing tokenized securities at US$16 trillion by 2030, DTCC says.

However, adoption of the technology has stalled as the industry continues working in silos. Most digital asset initiatives today have differing and conflicting standards, controls, and operational processes, leading to a fragmented digital landscape.

“We’ve reached a critical inflection point in the adoption of digital asset technology, and DTCC is challenging the industry to rethink and reframe its siloed approach,” says Nadine Chakar, global head of DTCC Digital Assets. “The ultimate objective of DTCC Digital Launchpad is to bring the industry together to build production-ready, secure, and efficient digital market infrastructure and standards that will transform capital markets for generations to come.”

DTCC has also announced the results of a recent proof of concept ( POC ) on DTCC Digital Launchpad. Led by Japan Securities Clearing Corporation ( JSCC ), clearinghouse of Japan Exchange Group, the POC explored how central counterparties ( CCPs ) could use tokenization to optimize the collateral management process for clearing members and their buyside firms.

In particular, it examined how margin calls and their associated processes could be automated, made more efficient and transparent for all participants using digital assets and smart contracts – or rules that automatically execute on a distributed ledger when certain conditions are met.

“JSCC is excited to share the results of our successful proof of concept, which demonstrated that digital assets and smart contracts technology could be leveraged to introduce operational and capital efficiencies for market participants in the collateral management process,” says JSCC president and chief executive officer Konuma Yasuyuki.

“By leveraging DTCC’s reusable blockchain-based infrastructure, we were able to jump-start our proof of concept, easily issuing digital assets such as cash, stocks, and bonds without needing to develop our own infrastructure. This allowed us to shift our focus to the initiative’s impact on our own business processes.”