State Street becomes first custodian on JPMorgan tokenized debt platform

State Street, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has become the first external custodian on JPMorgan’s tokenized debt platform. The move enables the institution to provide custody services for blockchain-based debt securities aimed at institutional clients.

JPMorgan’s Digital Debt Service platform facilitates the trading and settlement of debt instruments issued on blockchain, representing government or corporate bonds.

In the first transaction, State Street purchased $100 million in tokenized commercial debt issued by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), one of the oldest banks in Southeast Asia.

Founded in 1792, State Street holds over $49 trillion in assets under custody and manages an additional $5.1 trillion in assets. The company is part of the “Big Three,” alongside BlackRock and Vanguard.

According to JPMorgan, the inclusion of an external custodian marks an important step in expanding institutional access to tokenized assets and advancing the use of blockchain technology in the debt market.