DTCC Explores Issuing USD Stablecoin to Modernize Clearing Rails

• DTCC is exploring a USD-based stablecoin to enable faster transaction settlements across financial markets using on-chain infrastructure.
• DTCC may issue its own stablecoin or partner with third-party players, but awaits regulatory clarity from Washington.

US financial market giant, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), is reportedly exploring issuing a US dollar-based stablecoin. This plan is said to be an effort to speed up the settlement of cross-market transactions that have so far relied on slow and layered traditional systems.

This initial information came from The Information, which revealed that DTCC’s steps are still limited to internal exploration. They will not move further before the US Congress passes a law that clearly regulates stablecoins.

DTCC Eyes On-Chain Cash to Speed Up Settlement Flow

According to several internal sources leaked to the media, the stablecoin being studied will be designed as “on-chain cash” that can be used directly on DTCC’s clearing network. This means that funds no longer need to “walk” from bank to bank when transactions are made, just one digital click and the transaction is complete.

However, there is no explanation whether DTCC will issue its own stablecoin or will collaborate with third-party issuers such as Circle or PayPal.

Furthermore, DTCC is not a new player in the digital scene. Since 2022, they have been operating Project Ion, a distributed ledger-based stock settlement system that processes over a million transactions per day. But without the support of a native digital form of money in the system, settlement is not entirely instantaneous. Well, stablecoins could be the last missing piece.

Global Momentum Drives Stablecoin Competition

While the DTCC is still waiting for the green light from Washington, in other parts of the world, other big players have started to move. As we previously reported, Ant International, part of the giant Alibaba, has openly stated that it will apply for a stablecoin issuing license in Hong Kong.

This is not just talk, because the Hong Kong financial authority will start enforcing the stablecoin regulatory framework on August 1 this year. In fact, Ant is also eyeing similar licenses in Singapore and Luxembourg. It seems that Ant does not want to miss the global stablecoin train—and who knows, they might be faster than many traditional Western financial institutions.

On the other hand, Galaxy Digital has also shown full support for the future of stablecoins, especially those based on US Treasuries. CEO Mike Novogratz has been vocal about legislation like the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts that could be a major catalyst for stablecoin adoption in modern payments systems.

Galaxy even went so far as to say that institutional stablecoins would lend more legitimacy to the emerging digital financial system.

Back to the DTCC, if all goes well with the regulations, they will likely test their stablecoin on the Project Ion network as a test case. Imagine if the settlement process for stocks could go from T+1 to T+0. Like moving money from one wallet to another—fast, real-time, and instantly traceable. But of course, it all depends on how Washington decides the fate of stablecoins in America.