India's SEBI and RBI launch Demat 2.0 pilot, tokenizing corporate bonds on blockchain and settling via wholesale digital rupee, with three companies raising $107M.
Regulation & Gov ·
India's Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) and central bank have launched a pilot program called Demat 2.0 that issues corporate bonds as digital tokens and settles transactions using the wholesale digital rupee. The initiative targets the country's corporate bond market, which stands at approximately $620 billion. Three companies have already participated in the pilot, collectively raising about $107 million through tokenized bond offerings, according to reporting on the initiative.
Demat 2.0 integrates blockchain technology with India's central bank digital currency infrastructure to streamline bond issuance and settlement. By tokenizing corporate debt instruments, the system aims to modernize India's securities infrastructure and potentially reduce settlement friction. The use of the wholesale digital rupee—a version of the central bank digital currency designed for institutional transactions—underpins the settlement mechanism.
The pilot remains in its early stages. Key questions persist regarding scalability beyond the initial three participating companies, the timeline for broader rollout to India's corporate bond market, and whether regulatory frameworks will be expanded to accommodate more issuers and investors.