India launches tokenized bond pilot with $107M issued
SEBI said later phases of Demat 2.0 will introduce secondary trading and open the tokenized bonds to retail investors.
SEBI said later phases of Demat 2.0 will introduce secondary trading and open the tokenized bonds to retail investors.
India’s securities regulator and central bank have launched a tokenized corporate bond pilot, with three companies issuing a combined 10.25 billion rupees (about $107 million) through the new market infrastructure.
On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said Demat 2.0 allows corporate bonds to be issued and held as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the country’s statutory depositories. The system connects to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) through its Unified Market Interface.
SEBI said the infrastructure allows issuers to receive funds on the day of bidding instead of two to three days later. The regulator said atomic settlement removes the delay between the movement of money and bonds, while smart contracts can automate interest and redemption payments.