Digital assets through an institutional lens: A conversation with Angus Fletcher

Angus Fletcher: The platform reflects how the industry itself has evolved. For many years, tokenization was dominated by proofs of concept and isolated pilots. Today, that has shifted. Clients are now looking to scale — safely, compliantly, and at institutional volumes. Following significant engagement with clients over several years and feedback from our buy-side annual survey, it is clear: Digital assets need the same front-to-back servicing discipline as traditional markets.

From the outset, our design goal for DAP was to deliver a fully integrated asset servicing stack in a digital environment, including fund accounting, transfer agency, custody, and cash. That stack works seamlessly across both digital and traditional assets. DAP enables that convergence in a scalable, digital-first way, grounded in the controls and resilience our clients expect from State Street.  

Demand across our client base is broad and highly varied. We’re seeing strong interest in tokenized money market funds (MMFs), growing engagement around tokenized ETFs, and increasing momentum in tokenized private markets.

Clients are also at very different stages of maturity — from those who are ready to issue tokenized products today to those still evaluating use cases and risk frameworks. That variability is precisely why DAP was designed to be jurisdiction and blockchain agnostic. It allows us to meet clients wherever they are, without locking them into a single market, chain, or technology stack. This flexibility gives us the foundation to scale existing use cases and introduce new ones over time, in line with client demand.

In short, the platform is intentionally broad — because client needs are — and that breadth is what enables scalable growth.  

A critical starting point is distinguishing between cryptocurrencies and digital representations of real-world financial instruments. Direct custody of cryptocurrencies carries risk characteristics — such as irreversible loss from key compromises — that are not currently compatible with State Street’s institutional risk appetite.

Therefore, our focus is on digital assets that represent regulated financial instruments, supported by strong legal frameworks and operational controls. We do selectively support crypto-related services, such as fund accounting for spot crypto ETFs, but we are deliberate about where we engage.

From a blockchain perspective, we intend to support a spectrum of models: private permissioned chains, public permissioned chains designed with regulatory oversight, and — over time — public permissionless environments where appropriate controls can be applied. The industry is clearly moving toward broader distribution models, and we are evolving our risk frameworks accordingly, but always with institutional safeguards at the core.

Cybersecurity is equally fundamental. Connectivity to external networks increases exposure, so cyber controls, engineering discipline, and operational resilience are embedded into DAP by design.  

Long-term success in digital assets won’t be defined by speed alone, but by resilience, interoperability, compliance, and trust.

Our initial focus is tokenized MMFs, where client demand is strongest and the value proposition is clear. Tokenization enhances mobility and significantly improves the usability of MMFs as collateral in derivatives and other markets.

From there, we’re expanding into tokenized ETFs, building on State Street’s deep expertise across both asset management and servicing. We’re actively working with clients to shape product structures, distribution models, and operational design.

Private markets are another area of growing interest. While tokenization doesn’t solve every structural challenge, it can meaningfully improve automation, transparency, and potentially secondary market liquidity.

Finally, tokenized cash — whether through tokenized deposits or stablecoins — is critical. The industry is moving toward a multi-money environment, and clients want flexibility in how cash moves through digital workflows. Whether delivered directly or in conjunction with partners, providing optionality of payment rails is an essential part of our strategy — and a foundation for operating effectively in an increasingly tokenized, multi‑money financial system.