Bonds — Tokenized Fixed Income
Government and corporate debt issued on-chain. Faster settlement, programmable coupons, and broader distribution subject to local rules.
Overview
Tokenized bonds replicate the features of traditional bonds (coupon, maturity, seniority) but live on a blockchain ledger. This provides faster settlement, programmable interest payments, and transparent investor registers. Products range from sovereign treasuries to corporate notes and securitized pools.
Why tokenize bonds
- Faster settlement & lower costs: near-instant delivery-versus-payment and reduced reconciliation.
- Programmable coupons: automated on-chain interest and redemption logic.
- Fractional access: smaller denominations expand distribution (subject to investor eligibility).
- Transparency: immutable ledger of bondholders and cashflows.
Legal & compliance (high-level)
- Classification: almost always a security (debt instrument). Securities laws apply.
- Offering regimes: EU Prospectus Regulation & exemptions, US Reg D/Reg S/Reg A+, UK, SG, CH frameworks.
- Transfer controls: whitelisted wallets, jurisdictional restrictions, professional/retail eligibility.
- KYC/AML: mandatory investor verification, Travel Rule when intermediaries are involved.
- Docs: Offering Memorandum/IM, Terms & Conditions, custody/paying agent agreements.
Note: requirements differ by jurisdiction and type of bond. Always align with licensed counsel and venue rules.
Common structures
- Native on-chain bond: issued directly on a ledger with encoded coupon calendar and transfer restrictions.
- Mirrored / wrapped note: off-chain ISIN with on-chain representation under custody/trust.
- Programmatic issuance: repeat programs (treasuries, commercial paper) with templated docs and automated cycles.
Platforms working with Bonds
ADDX
Singapore issuance & secondary platform; strong fixed-income focus.
Tokeny
European SaaS for compliant tokenization of securities and notes.
Hashnote
On-chain cash and short-duration bond strategies with compliance controls.
21Shares
Wrapper/index provider expanding into tokenized fixed income.
INX
Regulated marketplace offering STOs and secondary trading for bonds.
Key risks
- Regulatory fragmentation: eligibility and marketing rules differ cross-border.
- Liquidity: secondary depth depends on venue adoption and issuance size.
- Operational: paying agent setup; reconciliations with fiat rails.
- Smart-contract: technical bugs or key management failures.
Explore further
Interested in tokenized bonds? See the full list of platforms, or continue with our guides on structuring and compliance.