TONIC BOOM

The latest episode of TonicBoom! is hosted by Philip Forkan, Tonic’s Head of Collateral, who was joined by Tonic’s head of post-trade, Philip Cook and our legal friends from D2LT Emma Wooldridge and Sydney Hassal.

In this episode, the group addressed the SEC’s recent extension of clearing deadlines and what this could mean for market participants. The new compliance dates set for December 2026 (cash transactions) and June 2027 (repo) seem to give breathing room, but we know that the market is eagerly awaiting done-away trading models and new CCP offerings, which result in massive undertakings across financial firms and market participants who trade in-scope US Treasuries, particularly UST repo. New paper will be required for the ‘new’ clearing methods and CCP offerings.

The podcast teams also addressed:

Please do give it a listen, and reach out to us at Tonic to discuss your US treasury clearing compliance journey!

00:00 Episode Intro
02:45 Two Truths, One Lie Challenge
09:30 Treasury Clearing Mandate 
16:22 What Should Clients Be Doing Today?
18:00 Start Early and Maintain Momentum
23:46 The Implementation Timeline Iceberg
25:00 Episode Conclusion and Outro 

Our Tonic CEO Chris Watts and Head of Digital Steven Czarnota are once again joined by our friends at State Street,  Greg Donovan (Vice President of Collateral Client Solutions) and Sam Edwards (Head of Collateral EMEA/APAC). 

In this episode, we explore the transformative role of digital assets in collateral management. Industry experts discuss how tokenisation is reshaping the landscape of collateral, expanding liquidity, and enabling new possibilities for financial institutions. We also dive into the challenges of mobilising assets and the critical role of technology in simplifying asset transfer and settlement.

Key Points:

Tokenisation of Collateral: How tokenising assets like money market funds is broadening the pool of collateral and enhancing liquidity.

Digital Asset Opportunities: The potential of digital assets to streamline collateral management and improve efficiency across financial markets.

Challenges and Solutions: The need for improved settlement processes and the role of technology in overcoming these barriers.

0:00 Episode Introduction
0:55 Emerging Digital Asset Trends
2:58 Expanding Collateral Pools
6:11 The Role of Tokenisation in Liquidity Management
9:05 Solving Settlement Friction with DLT
13:57 Integrating Smart Contracts and AI for Efficiency
18:45 The Future of Tokenised Collateral
21:49 Interoperability as the Key to Industry-Wide Adoption 
22:27 Episode Outro

Our Tonic CEO Chris Watts and Head of Digital Steven Czarnota are joined by our friends at State Street, Greg Donovan (Vice President of Collateral Client Solutions) and Sam Edwards (Head of Collateral EMEA/APAC). 

In this episode of TonicBoom!, we explore how digital is revolutionizing financial markets. As tokenization accelerates and native digital assets gain traction, institutions are rethinking how this impacts their collateral, settlement and liquidity processes.

Key topics include:

This is just the beginning! Stay tuned for Part Two, where we dive even deeper into the future of digital assets and collateral.

0:00 - Episode introduction
01:58 - Meet the Experts
03:12 - Two Truths, One Lie Challenge
08:22 - State of the Digital Market
11:01 - What Exactly is a Digital Asset?
14:09 - Why is Collateral the Catalyst?
17:03 - Current Industry Challenges in Collateral Management
20:11 - Unlocking Liquidity through Tokenisation
22:37 - The Road to a More Efficient Future
24:25 - Episode Conclusion and Outro

In the second episode of our Tonic Boom! UST Clearing series, our Industry Ninjas (SMEs!) zoom in on the different Access Models that in-scope firms will need to choose from and implement. 
Our Tonic CEO Chris Watts and Head of Post-Trade Phil Cook are joined once more by our friends at State Street, including Jeff Sowell (Head of Financing Product) and Jordan Cobb Vice President, Secured Financing. 
Tune in for a deep-dive on the topics below, led by our experts: 

0:00 - Episode introduction
01:48 - Meet the Experts
02:36 - Two Truths, One Lie Challenge
05:05 - Access Models for Treasury Clearing
06:02 - FIC GSD Membership Types
11:38 - Agent Clearing Model
15:05 - How the Sponsored Member Model Works
19:00 - Operating Model on the Sponsored Member Side
24:13 - Practical Steps for Firms
25:40 - Conclusion and Next Steps

In this inaugural episode of Tonic Boom!, we kick things off with a conversation dedicated to US Treasury Clearing (USTC), a truly monster reg initiative that will transform the UST industry operating model over the coming years. 

The first in a series of episodes on the topic, Chris Watts (host and Tonic CEO) and Phil Cook (Head of Post-Trade at Tonic) focus on the foundations of UST clearing, joined by an impressive line-up of industry SMEs, Travis Keltner, Head of Financing at State Street, and Jeff Sowell, Head of Financing Product at State Street.

Tune in to hear answers to questions including, “What are the market drivers for USTC?”, “What is the regulatory scope, key rules and dates?”, “What is the history of Repo Clearing and how has it shaped the UST Clearing model we see today?”, and finally, “What are the key impact areas for in-scope firms?”

00:00 - Episode Introduction
01:26 - What is Treasury Clearing?
01:45 - Guest Introductions
02:49 - Two Truths, One Lie Challenge
05:18 - Introduction to Treasury Clearing
11:26 - Market Drivers and Regulations
06:46 - Central Clearing and its Implications
13:20 - History of Repo Clearing
20:33 - Key Impact Areas for InScope Firms
25:44 - Conclusion and Future Topics

Find out what you can expect from this new podcast channel.