According to Woofun AI, BNY Mellon (BK.US) completed the first overnight tri-party repo transaction using tokenized collateral on the Tradeweb (TW.US) platform. Citadel Securities purchased two-year U.S. Treasury bonds, with BNY Mellon (BK.US) recording a tokenized representation on its private distributed ledger and using it as collateral.
Woofun AI compiled data showing that the settlement of this transaction took only a few minutes, far faster than the traditional T+1 cycle. In this case, BNY Mellon (BK.US) played a dual role as both intermediary and cash lender, breaking the conventional structure of typical tri-party repo where the intermediary sits between the dealer and third-party cash providers such as money market funds, highlighting its central position in the flow of funds.
However, the technical necessity is questionable. Ledger Insights pointed out in July that BNY Mellon (BK.US) had already launched an intraday repo service in early 2025, enabling UBS (UBS.US) to lend to Swiss Re under existing tri-party documentation, and that its traditional processes already supported U.S. Treasury settlement during non-standard trading hours. If both buyer and seller are clients of the bank, its internal systems could already achieve real-time settlement without relying on blockchain.
Since JPMorgan (JPM.US) exited in 2019, BNY Mellon (BK.US) has been the only major tri-party repo intermediary in the United States, handling an average daily transaction volume of $24 trillion. The bank has offered two official explanations, but the unmentioned third reason—cementing its monopoly position or reshaping industry standards—may well be the key driver behind this tokenization attempt.
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