One of the biggest risks to successful adoption of digital asset securities is fragmentation: fragmentation of networks, fragmentation of smart contract language, fragmentation of regulations.
Without interoperability, defined as the ability to exchange assets across ledgers while preserving the asset’s integrity, ownership rights and lifecycle, capital markets will encounter structural inefficiencies. Interoperability plays a key role in reducing these inefficiencies, helping to connect ledgers, contracts and networks, but also to ensure seamless integration with the traditional infrastructure that underpins global finance.
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To highlight the importance of interoperability, DTCC collaborated with Clearstream, Euroclear, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on Building the Path Towards Digital Asset Securities Interoperability. The white paper, which is a continuation of previous digital assets research published by the firms, explores three interoperability pillars.
- Data: To scale digital asset markets, data should be recognized consistently across platforms. Common identifiers, taxonomies and message formats ensure the same asset is understood the same way on both digital ledger technologies and traditional infrastructure.
- Processes: Progress will benefit from coordination among financial market infrastructure firms, market participants, regulators and technology providers. Shared frameworks provide a neutral foundation to align standards, surface gaps and scale adoption responsibly.
- Risk: Clear roles, enforceable rights and regulatory alignment are important to preserving trust. Interoperable systems must maintain legal certainty, settlement finality and FMI-grade resilience as assets move across ledgers.
To learn more about the importance of interoperability, the proposed framework and case studies, read the full white paper here.