BNY said on 13 October 2026 that it has completed a triparty repo deal with Citadel Securities using a tokenized version of a US Treasury note. In its press release, the bank describes the trade as “the first use of tokenized assets on a major triparty repo platform” [1]. That “first” is BNY’s own claim.
What happened
According to BNY, Citadel Securities “purchased a 2-year U.S. Treasury note through BNY on Tradeweb”, an electronic bond-trading platform. After the trade, “a tokenized representation of the security was recorded on BNY’s private digital ledger and settled within minutes” [1].
Citadel Securities then used that tokenized Treasury “as collateral in an overnight triparty repo, a short-term financing transaction, with BNY providing cash in return,” the bank said [1].
BNY did not say how large the trade was, what interest rate applied or what ledger technology it used.
The terms, explained
- US Treasury note. A loan to the US government that pays interest and is repaid after a set time, in this case two years. Treasuries are among the most widely traded and trusted assets in the world, which makes them popular as collateral.
- Tokenized. The note is represented as a digital record, or “token”, on a ledger. Here it is BNY’s own private ledger, not a public blockchain such as Ethereum. The aim is to move and track ownership faster.
- Settlement. The step where the buyer actually gets the asset and the seller gets paid. Normal Treasury trades settle on what traders call T+1, the next business day. BNY says this one settled “near-instantly rather than on the standard T+1 settlement cycle” [1].
- Repo. Short for repurchase agreement. One side sells a security and agrees to buy it back shortly afterwards, often the next day, at a slightly higher price. In practice it is a short-term loan backed by the security.
- Triparty repo. A repo where a third party, here BNY, sits in the middle. It holds and values the collateral and handles the transfers for both sides. BNY describes itself as “a leading settlement agent and collateral manager” in the Treasury market [1].
The point of the test is that the same tokenized asset moved from purchase, to settlement, to being pledged for a loan, without leaving the digital system.
What the companies said
Carolyn Weinberg, BNY’s Chief Innovation & Market Transformation Officer, said: “By using a tokenized representation of a U.S. Treasury across both settlement and financing, we are enabling more connected, efficient and always-on financial system” [1].
Brian Ruane, who runs clearance and collateral management at BNY, said: “As Treasury market activity becomes more continuous, the infrastructure supporting liquidity, funding and collateral has to keep pace” [1].
Laide Majiyagbe, BNY’s Global Head of Markets, called the deal “a real example of how tokenization solves for client needs, leveraging both digital rails and traditional infrastructure” [1].
Dan Doherty, Digital Assets Operations Lead at Citadel Securities, said in the release: “We’re pleased to work with BNY on a practical use case that shows how tokenized U.S. Treasuries can move from settlement into financing more efficiently” [1].
What BNY says comes next
BNY says it plans to add “additional digital cash and tokenized deposit capabilities” for institutional clients. It also expects to extend operating hours for its traditional settlement platforms for Fed-eligible securities and US triparty deals, “with a view to extend into European and Asian trading hours next year” [1].
BNY says it oversees $62.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $2.2 trillion in assets under management, as of 30 June 2026 [1].
What this means
- It is a big bank, not a crypto firm. One of the largest custodians in the US Treasury market is testing tokens inside its core financing business.
- It runs on a private ledger. This is tokenization inside BNY’s own system, not a public, open blockchain.
- It is one trade. BNY gave no size, and it has not said when, or whether, this becomes a routine service.
Sources
- BNY, “BNY Completes Tokenized U.S. Treasury Triparty Repo Workflow with Citadel Securities”, 13 October 2026. https://www.bny.com/corporate/global/en/about-us/newsroom/press-release/bny-completes-tokenized-us-treasury-triparty-repo-workflow-with-citadel-securities.html
