INTERVIEW | Staggering usage volumes of DLT repo platforms that settle tokenised digital assets come as the industry braces for accelerated settlement and direct‑to‑investor distribution models gain momentum. In this game, collateral, once again, remains key.
With a near‑500% increase in trades settled on Broadridge’s Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) platform in late 2025, and nearly USD 400 billion in tokenised repos processed daily, the shift is no longer experimental. It is systemic. And behind the scale sits a clear purpose: a step‑change in collateral mobility and optimisation.
“DLT repo is just the mechanism,” says Horacio Barakat, head of Digital Innovation for Capital Markets at Broadridge. The mechanism he refers to is a smart‑contract‑driven workflow that detaches collateral from the trade agreement itself. Collateral remains immobilised in custody, but is tokenised and represented digitally, allowing smart contracts to manage the full lifecycle of repo agreements—including mid‑life events such as collateral substitution.
This architecture enables something the traditional repo market has never been able to offer: precision‑timed funding. Tokenisation and smart‑contract orchestration allow repos to be executed for minutes or hours, not just overnight. “If you need funding from 10am to noon, you can execute a two‑hour repo,” Barakat notes. For both cash lenders and borrowers, this opens the door to intraday liquidity markets that match needs far more closely than legacy infrastructure allows.
This is where collateral mobility and utilisation begin to shine.
Growing acceptance of DLT assets in faster markets
The surge in DLT repo volumes arrives at a moment of regulatory alignment. The European Central Bank’s decision this week to accept certain DLT‑based assets as collateral in its credit operations signals a new level of institutional comfort with tokenised instruments. It also suggests how market infrastructure may evolve in a T+1 world.
Broadridge’s platform – live since 2021 and now processing thousands of trades daily—illustrates what this evolution looks like in practice. “This is not an episodic platform,” Barakat emphasises. “Clients are joining because they see real value—and they’re monetising it.”
Crucially, the platform does not require firms to abandon existing systems. It integrates directly with front‑office and back‑office infrastructure, preserving straight‑through processing while introducing new settlement flexibility. That flexibility is becoming increasingly relevant as Europe prepares for accelerated settlement.
While firms face significant investment to meet T+1 requirements, Barakat argues that DLT‑based repo infrastructure can complement those programmes rather than compete with them. “The investment to join the platform is not significant compared to broader T+1 programmes,” he says. “And the technology goes a step further—it enables flexible settlement cycles dictated by counterparties, not market infrastructure.”
A turning point for collateral velocity
The ECB’s willingness to accept DLT‑based collateral could accelerate adoption of these models, particularly as institutions look to optimise liquidity under tighter settlement windows. For repo markets—where collateral velocity is paramount—the convergence of regulatory openness and proven operational scale may mark a decisive turning point.
As Barakat puts it, “If this technology doesn’t increase collateral mobility, why use it? But when applied correctly, it changes what’s possible.”
