DTC (The Depository Trust Company), a U.S. depository and settlement infrastructure operator, submitted a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to revamp the Direct Registration System (DRS) aimed at cutting stock registration transfer processing time from days to minutes.

The Defiant reported on Thursday that the proposal focuses on automating transfer procedures by reducing batch processing and manual steps.

Currently, after a transfer agent approves a participant’s “profile deposit request”, it must separately create an order. If the revamp is implemented, DTC’s securities processing application would automatically create the order and reflect the shares in the participant’s DTC account.

DRS is a system that allows shares to be moved without paper certificates between ownership held in name through DTC and direct ownership recorded by an issuer’s transfer agent. This structure is also linked to platforms that register shares on-chain or handle tokenized shares.

DTC did not guarantee that all transfers would be completed within minutes. Transfer agents must still verify and approve requests and update ownership records. When moving brokerage-held shares to direct registration, only DTC participants can initiate a “transfer method withdrawal”, and transfer agents must approve the process of changing the registered owner from DTC nominee Cede & Co to the investor’s name.

Carlos Domingo (카를로스 도밍고), chief executive of Securitize, said on Oct. 8 the proposal could make the pathway from brokerage accounts to tokenized shares faster. Securitize tokenized its SECZ shares in July.

The proposal requires SEC approval. DTC set Nov. 13, 2026 as its target implementation date, and plans to introduce it by January 2027 if the schedule is delayed.