19 hrs ago
India Prepares Pilot for Tokenised Corporate Bonds
A tokenised corporate bond is still a normal loan that investors give to a company.
The difference is that a blockchain records who owns the bond and how it is transferred.
This could make transactions faster and easier to track.
The bond would still pay interest and return the investor’s money according to its terms.
It is not the same as cryptocurrency because it represents a regulated financial security.
India may test this system with REC in September.
At first, only selected investors are expected to participate.
Those investors may need two special digital wallets instead of just a bank and demat account.
The launch date, lock-in period and future trading rules have not been formally confirmed.
India is expected to launch its first tokenised corporate bond pilot in September, with state-owned REC reportedly set to issue it.
The bond itself would retain conventional interest, principal repayment and issuer credit exposure, while ownership and settlement records move to a distributed ledger.
The pilot is expected to be limited to selected participants, with retail eligibility and minimum investment amounts not yet announced.
Participants may need a wholesale digital rupee wallet and a new securities wallet, sometimes described as “DEMAT 2.0.”
Experts disagree over whether the bonds will eventually trade on exchanges; any reported three-month lock-in and September launch remain based on media reports, not a formal announcement.
- Who
- India’s financial-market authorities and selected investors are expected to participate, with state-owned power financier REC reportedly issuing the bond.
- What
- A pilot for tokenised corporate bonds that uses distributed-ledger technology to record ownership and settlement.
- Where
- Within India’s regulatory and financial-market framework; payments are expected to use the Reserve Bank’s wholesale digital rupee system.
- When
- The pilot is expected in September, although the timing is based on media reports rather than a formal regulatory announcement.
- Why
- To test whether blockchain-based records can make bond settlement faster, more transparent and potentially more accessible.
Expected Market Access
More Cautious Interpretation
Future exchange trading
Expected Market Access
Vikaas M Sachdeva said secondary trading is expected to occur through exchanges over time, between compatible-wallet users and after the reported lock-in period.
More Cautious Interpretation
Nishchay Nath said the bonds are not expected to trade on exchanges in the same way as listed securities.
Launch certainty
Expected Market Access
Current reporting points to a September pilot involving REC and a possible three-month lock-in.
More Cautious Interpretation
Sachdeva cautioned that the September timing and lock-in are based on media reports, not a formal regulatory announcement.
Retail participation
Expected Market Access
Tokenisation could eventually improve efficiency, transparency and accessibility for retail investors.
More Cautious Interpretation
Both experts described the initial issue as a limited pilot, with retail eligibility and minimum investment amounts still unannounced.
Key facts
- Expected issuer
- REC, a state-owned power financier
- Expected launch
- September, according to current media reports
- Pilot scope
- Limited to selected participants rather than a broad retail offering
- Underlying asset
- A conventional corporate bond retaining its credit exposure, interest payments and principal repayment
- Settlement technology
- A distributed ledger or blockchain
- Expected payment method
- The Reserve Bank’s wholesale digital rupee
- Expected participant wallets
- A wholesale digital currency wallet and a securities wallet referred to as “DEMAT 2.0”
- Lock-in
- A reported three-month lock-in, which has not been formally confirmed
Quotes
Vikaas M Sachdeva
CEO of BitDelta India
“conventional bonds use existing securities-market infrastructure for ownership and settlement, while tokenised bonds use a blockchain or distributed ledger, potentially enabling near-instant settlement”
livemint.com
“tokenised corporate bonds are conventional corporate bonds whose ownership and settlement records are maintained on a distributed ledger rather than through the traditional multi-step process”
livemint.com
Sources
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