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The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and its central securities depository subsidiary, The Depository Trust Company (DTC), have achieved a significant milestone by surpassing $100 trillion in assets under custody. This record-setting figure, reaching $100.3 trillion in 2025, represents a substantial 37% increase from $73.5 trillion in 2020. This growth underscores DTC’s critical role as a backbone of the U.S. financial markets, providing essential post-trade infrastructure.
The growth in assets under custody was broad-based, with several key asset classes contributing significantly:
* Equities: Grew to $74.1 trillion in 2025 from $49.6 trillion in 2020, marking a robust 49% increase. This substantial rise indicates a thriving U.S. equities market and increased investor participation.
* Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): Within equities, ETFs demonstrated exceptional growth, doubling their assets under custody to $11 trillion in 2025 from $5.5 trillion in 2020, a remarkable 100% increase. This highlights the continued popularity and adoption of ETFs as investment vehicles.
* Money Market Instruments: Also saw healthy growth, increasing to $4.1 trillion in 2025 from $3.2 trillion in 2020, representing a 28% rise.
Why is this significant?
* Market Growth and Investor Confidence: The overall increase in assets under custody reflects a period of significant growth in U.S. market capitalization and sustained investor confidence in the financial markets.
* DTC’s Central Role: As a central securities depository, DTC provides critical services that underpin the stability and efficiency of the U.S. financial system. These services include:
* Safekeeping of Securities: Holding physical and electronic securities on behalf of brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions.
* Automated Transfers: Facilitating the transfer of securities through electronic book-entry, which reduces risk and increases efficiency.
* Corporate Actions Processing: Managing events such as dividends, mergers, and reorganizations, ensuring accurate and timely communication between issuers and investors.
* Settlement Services: Providing a centralized system for the clearing and settlement of trades, which significantly reduces operational risk and costs.
* Scaling and Resilience: The ability of DTC to manage such a vast and growing amount of assets, particularly during periods of market volatility, speaks to its robust infrastructure and its role in ensuring the resiliency and safety of the financial markets.
This achievement solidifies DTC’s position as a premier post-trade market infrastructure provider and highlights the continuous expansion and evolution of the U.S. financial landscape.

Video courtesy of Thinking Crypto

Video courtesy of Thinking Crypto