Clearstream, DTCC, and Euroclear Map the Course to Interoperability and Drive Widespread Adoption of Digital Asset Securities

Today, three of the world’s largest financial market infrastructures (FMIs)—Clearstream, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), and Euroclear—in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), released their latest collaborative white paper titled “Building the Path Towards Digital Asset Securities Interoperability”, which identifies the current challenges of achieving interoperability within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. It also explores the different objects of interoperability across the value chain, and proposes a path forward for the industry to collaborate on data standardization, process harmonization, and roles consistency.

The white paper proposes five key foundations and features that will be required to achieve interoperability at scale and with trust across the digital asset securities ecosystem:

1. Assets and liabilities
2. Ownership recognition
3. Asset lifecycle and movement protocols
4. Ledgers
5. Legal and regulatory compliance

Additionally, the paper identifies fragmentation across emerging DLT networks as a challenge the industry needs to address and overcome. With interoperability, the paper highlights that the industry will be able to take advantage of the full potential of digital asset securities, simplifying use cases, unlocking new models, and preserving the mobility, liquidity, security, and fungibility of assets. The paper concludes with a call for collective action on data standardization, process harmonization, and accountability to shape resilient markets.

The framework builds on a previous joint publication from 2024, “Building the Digital Asset Ecosystem”, which identified the Digital Asset Securities Control Principles (DASCPs) to serve as standards for a global digital asset ecosystem, including legal certainty, regulatory compliance, resilience and security, safeguarding customers’ assets, connectivity and interoperability and operational stability.

“Interoperability is the cornerstone for digital assets adoption and scalability. Participants must focus on data, standards, and sound risk management as common objectives to bridge TradFi and DeFi with integrity, security, and trust,” said Nadine Chakar, Managing Director and Head of Digital Assets at DTCC. “The security control principles and interoperability framework provide a practical approach to apply shared standards for data, implement uniform processes, and adequately assign roles that the industry can adopt today. Through our continued collaboration with Clearstream and Euroclear, we combine complementary strengths and shared expertise to develop and implement asset interoperability solutions that lower industry costs, accelerate innovation, and help advance global markets toward a resilient, scalable digital future.”

“The framework presented in this white paper is testament to our ongoing engagement for interoperability, enabling harmonization, driving adoption, and unlocking value,” stated Jens Hachmeister, Head of Issuer Services and New Digital Markets at Clearstream. “Our perspective is pragmatic and always focusing on our clients—traditional infrastructures and DLT are likely to need to coexist for years to come, and we believe that industry collaboration remains the most effective way to develop the ecosystem of the future.”

“Interoperability will be essential for DLT markets to scale successfully in the coming years,” added Isabelle Delorme, Head of Product Strategy and Innovation at Euroclear. “To deliver meaningful results for clients, the industry must ensure assets are treated consistently across infrastructures while enhancing the liquidity of digital assets and enabling open access to all market infrastructures. Through shared collaboration and deep market expertise, we can provide the intelligence and practical solutions needed to unlock real value, accelerate adoption of DLT rails, and support seamless, global participation at scale.”

“Digital asset securities have the potential to deliver very high value across market. To free that potential, the industry needs to have an intentional approach on interoperability, setting up the right capabilities, controls and risk management along the value chain” emphasized Frédéric Brugère, Managing Director and Partner at The Boston Consulting Group. “Every actor, from FMIs to local banks, has a role to play and we invite collaboration at every level.”

To accelerate progress, the authors invite industry participants to leverage the framework outlined in the paper and to consider including it in their strategy roadmaps to ensure the best results for issuers and investors while upholding the safeguards that underpin the trust in global financial services.

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Read the white paper here.

[Editorial note: Please find here high-resolution photos of Nadine Chakar, Isabelle Delorme, Jens Hachmeister and Frédéric Brugère.]

About Clearstream

Clearstream is the innovative and trusted post-trade business for the global markets. It runs the leading securities and funds servicing ecosystems of tomorrow.

The company operates the German and Luxembourg central securities depositories and an international central securities depository for the Eurobonds market. With 21 trillion Euros in assets under custody, it is one of the world’s largest settlement and custody firms for domestic and international securities.

It also delivers premier fund dealing, distribution, digital and data services, covering over 55 fund markets worldwide.

Clearstream is part of Deutsche Börse Group, an international exchange organization and provider of innovative market infrastructures.
To learn more, visit us at www.clearstream.com or connect via LinkedIn.

About DTCC

With over 50 years of experience, DTCC is the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry. From 20 locations around the world, DTCC, through its subsidiaries, automates, centralizes, and standardizes the processing of financial transactions, mitigating risk, increasing transparency, enhancing performance and driving efficiency for thousands of broker/dealers, custodian banks and asset managers. Industry owned and governed, the firm innovates purposefully, simplifying the complexities of clearing, settlement, asset servicing, transaction processing, trade reporting and data services across asset classes, bringing enhanced resilience and soundness to existing financial markets while advancing the digital asset ecosystem. In 2024, DTCC’s subsidiaries processed securities transactions valued at U.S. $3.7 quadrillion and its depository subsidiary provided custody and asset servicing for securities issues from over 150 countries and territories valued at U.S. $99 trillion. DTCC’s Global Trade Repository service, through locally registered, licensed, or approved trade repositories, processes more than 25 billion messages annually. To learn more, please visit us at www.dtcc.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

About Euroclear

Euroclear group is the financial industry’s trusted provider of post trade services. Guided by its purpose, Euroclear innovates to bring safety, efficiency and connections to financial markets for sustainable economic growth. Euroclear provides settlement and custody of domestic and cross-border securities for bonds, equities and derivatives and investment funds. As a proven, resilient capital market infrastructure, Euroclear is committed to delivering risk-mitigation, automation and efficiency at scale for its global client franchise. The Euroclear group comprises Euroclear Bank, the International CSD, as well as Euroclear Belgium, Euroclear Finland, Euroclear France, Euroclear Nederland, Euroclear Sweden, Euroclear UK & International.

To learn more, visit www.euroclear.com.

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

To learn more, visit www.bcg.com.

Media contacts:
Clearstream     
Tabea Behr
+49 (0)69 2 11-13 016
tabea.behr@deutsche-boerse.com  

DTCC
Lauren McCormack Davis
+1-551-302-5591
Lauren-davis@dtcc.com 

Euroclear
Craig MacDonald 
+44 (0) 7471 148 319
craig.macdonald@euroclear.com

Boston Consulting Group
Bruce Wraight
+44 (0) 7484 929851
wraight.bruce@bcg.com