The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Clearstream, and Euroclear, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), have jointly designed a blueprint for establishing an industry-wide digital asset ecosystem. The aim is to shift the industry from its current tendency of innovating in silos to a broader, more collaborative development – a change the collaborators believe is needed to drive the acceptance of tokenised assets.
Published in a paper titled “Building the digital asset ecosystem”, the blueprint proposes six principles “to promote the successful adoption of tokenisation and digital asset securities”, not including cryptocurrencies. The research was based on an analysis of “approximately 100 regulations and whitepapers across multiple jurisdictions, and over 20 interviews with key market participants and technology vendors”.
The six principles are: Legal certainty; regulatory compliance; resilience and security; safeguarding consumer assets; connectivity and interoperability; operational scalability.
An opportunity
Quoting figures from BCG and private market exchange ADDX from 2022, the paper states, “by 2030, the tokenisation of global illiquid assets is projected to be a US$16 trillion business opportunity”.
Nadine Chakar, managing director, global head of DTCC Digital Assets says, “We have a unique opportunity to transform the financial system, but it will require collaboration across a wide cross section of firms to build the infrastructure, standards, controls, and governance to underpin digital markets.”
Jens Hachmeister, managing director, head of Issuer Services and New Digital Markets at Clearstream agrees, pointing out that industry-wide collaboration and unified standards are necessary to overcome current challenges and drive the integration of digital assets in the global financial ecosystem.
In addition, the paper also includes a set of risk management controls to prevent asset mismanagement and govern the use of smart contracts. Recommendations include defining access to smart contracts and keeping a comprehensive record of digital asset transactions.
