DDP-DTCC-Pilot-Report
The report documents a private‑sector pilot jointly conducted by the Digital Dollar Project (DDP) and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to evaluate how a U.S. wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) could be used for delivery‑versus‑payment (DvP) securities settlement. The pilot brought together nine major banks and custodians, built a prototype consisting of (1) a simulated Federal Reserve CBDC network, (2) DTCC’s Digital Settlement Network (DSN) prototype, and (3) an integration/orchestration layer that guarantees atomic settlement across the two distinct DLT networks. The document outlines the pilot’s scope, objectives, functional and operational requirements, design choices (permissioned network, encumbrance mechanisms, neutral third‑party orchestrator), and the logical architecture used. Findings include design trade‑offs (transaction confidentiality vs. auditability), business implications (operational efficiencies, risk and funding trade‑offs, settlement finality, reporting benefits), and identified opportunities for future work (scalability, performance, interoperability, ecosystem adoption, quantitative business‑value studies). The report also refines the DDP “Champion Model” – a set of functional tenets for a U.S. CBDC – emphasizing privacy for institutions, functional‑driven technology decisions, multilateral settlement, and asset encumbrance. The conclusion stresses that this is the first private‑sector‑initiated post‑trade CBDC pilot, provides a baseline for policy makers, and calls for continued public‑private collaboration.
Topics
Forewords: DTCC & DDP Positioning the Pilot as a Digital Innovation Milestone
Opening statements from DTCC and the Digital Dollar Project framing the pilot as a response to accelerated digital transformation post‑COVID and as a private‑sector effort to inform U.S. CBDC policy.