Four Ways to Settle Tokenized Assets With Atomic DvP

Atomic delivery-versus-payment settlement means that an asset and its payment transfer together, or neither transfer occurs. The design aims to prevent one party from delivering an asset while the other fails to pay. The comparison covers public and hybrid networks, with stablecoins such as USDC as the main cash leg. It also considers tokenized deposits and wholesale central bank digital currency.

The Solana DvP program places both trade legs in program-controlled escrow. Each party deposits its asset through a token transfer. A named settlement authority then submits one transaction to release both legs. Solana transactions either complete or fail as a whole, preventing partial settlement. Each party can reclaim its own deposit before settlement, and fixed destination accounts prevent the authority from redirecting proceeds.

The program supports standard Solana tokens and selected Token-2022 assets. USDC on Solana uses the legacy SPL Token program and can serve as the cash leg. Operators are instructed to treat a trade as settled when the settlement transaction reaches finalized network commitment. Legal finality depends on the agreements and laws that apply to the transaction.

A second design uses one Ethereum smart contract to transfer bond and cash tokens in a single transaction. Santander used this structure for a $20 million, one-year digital bond issued in September 2019. The European Investment Bank used a related model for a €100 million, two-year digital bond issued in April 2021. In both cases, the cash token represented settlement on-chain, while traditional payment rails continued to handle fiat transfers between participants.

The Ethereum model relies on contract permissions and the account authorized to complete settlement. Santander’s contract linked delivery and payment in one function. The EIB transaction used a permissioned framework with Issuer, Registrar and Settler roles. KYC and anti-money-laundering checks took place before smart-contract approval. Reclaim and cancellation procedures depend on each contract’s code and access controls.

Hashed timelock contracts can link assets held on separate ledgers without a shared institution. Each asset is locked against the same cryptographic hash. The parties release the assets by revealing a secret before a deadline. If the deadline passes, the locked assets are returned. Project Stella phase 2, conducted by the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan in 2018, tested the method using Corda, Elements and Fabric.

The cross-chain design can expose participants to principal risk if one leg is released while the other fails or times out incorrectly. An arbitrator may be needed to handle disputes. When USDC and a security are on different networks, operators may first move the stablecoin to the security’s network and then use a single-ledger settlement process.

Canton uses allocations to hold assets before settlement. Each sender locks a holding into an allocation, and an executor submits one Daml transaction after all required allocations are present. The transaction completes every transfer together or none of them. Allocation deadlines return the holdings if settlement does not occur. If assets are on different Canton synchronizers, the contracts can first be reassigned to a shared synchronizer before the final settlement transaction.

Canton’s token standard supports USDC, Canton Coin and other registered instruments. In August 2025, Digital Asset and its partners announced an on-chain U.S. Treasury financing transaction using USDC on Canton. The network is designed for controlled participation, privacy and network governance.

The four designs differ in where assets are held, who can authorize settlement and how failed trades are unwound. Atomic DvP can reduce principal risk between the two legs, but it does not remove issuer or redemption risk, token freeze powers, replacement-cost risk, legal finality questions or the need for separate clearing and risk-management arrangements.