Central Securities Depository

A central securities depository (CSD) is an institution that holds securities in electronic form and maintains the definitive register of who owns them, enabling trades to settle by book entry rather than physical transfer. Examples include the DTCC in the United States and Euroclear in Europe. The same letters are sometimes used for unrelated terms outside finance, but in capital markets a CSD means this record-keeping and settlement function.

How it works

A CSD holds the master record for the securities admitted to it. When two parties trade, the CSD moves the security from the seller's account to the buyer's account by updating that record. Physical certificates are immobilised or dematerialised, so the ledger entry replaces the certificate. What that entry records depends on the market's holding model. In a direct holding system, such as the Nordic markets, the CSD register names the end investor. In an intermediated or street-name system, such as the United States, the CSD's nominee is the registered holder and the investor holds a beneficial interest through a chain of intermediaries, so the CSD sees participant positions rather than end owners.

Settlement is organised around netting and delivery-versus-payment, where the transfer of a security and the transfer of cash are linked so neither completes without the other. The CSD sits at the centre, acting as the single trusted keeper of the register for every participant in that market.

What the data shows

Onchain markets reorganise this function rather than reproduce it in one place. Allium tracks 10,711 tokenized assets whose registers are kept by 115 separate issuers across 48 chains. There is no single depository; the record-keeping function is distributed across all of them (Allium data, October 22, 2026).

Why it matters

For an institutional reader, the CSD is where settlement finality is established, and depending on the holding model it may or may not be where legal title sits. When securities are issued onchain, the blockchain itself performs part of the ledger role that a CSD traditionally held, which raises questions about what entity holds the authoritative register, how finality is achieved, and how custody rules apply. The Central Securities Depository for Tokenized Securities article examines how these functions map onto tokenized issuance.

Related terms

• Custodian
• Settlement
• Delivery-versus-payment
• Transfer agent
• Atomic settlement

Frequently asked questions

What does a central securities depository do?

It holds securities in electronic form and maintains the definitive register of ownership, moving securities between accounts by book entry so trades settle without physical certificate transfer.

Do tokenized securities use a central securities depository?

Not in the traditional single-institution sense. The ledger role is often performed by the blockchain and distributed across issuers and chains, so the authoritative register sits in different places than in conventional markets.

How is a CSD different from a custodian?

A CSD maintains the market-wide register and settles trades between participants. A custodian holds securities on behalf of individual clients and interacts with the CSD on their behalf.

See the data behind this post. Browse the tokenized asset tables, or read How to Reconcile Tokenized Assets Across Blockchains for how the records are put together.

Allium provides onchain data infrastructure. Companies named in this article may be Allium customers, prospects or commercial counterparties. The authors and other Allium personnel may hold positions in the assets discussed. This article is informational only and is not investment, legal or tax advice. Data and information last reviewed: October 22, 2026.