Tokenised securities and funds
Latest change ·
First version, covering India, Singapore and Hong Kong. Tokenised deposits moved to the wholesale settlement entry.
Sources: sebi.gov.in, mas.gov.sg, apps.sfc.hk
What regulators in India, Singapore and Hong Kong allow for tokenised bonds, funds and other securities
As of 30 September 2026, all three markets treat a tokenised security as the same security under existing law, and differ on who runs the ledger. Hong Kong has the most complete rulebook: tokenised securities and tokenised public funds have been permitted since 2023, and since April 2026 tokenised funds can trade on licensed platforms, including by retail investors. Singapore works through MAS guidance and industry pilots under Project Guardian. India’s first tokenised bonds were issued in September 2026 in a pilot that keeps the ledger inside the depositories.
Side by side
| India | Singapore | Hong Kong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal approach | Same instrument in law; ledger run by depositories | Securities law applies to tokens that are capital markets products | Same instrument in law; SFC circulars on tokenisation |
| Main instrument | SEBI and RBI Demat 2.0 pilot, in SEBI’s regulatory sandbox | MAS Guide on the Tokenisation of Capital Markets Products | SFC circulars on tokenised securities and on tokenised SFC-authorised products |
| Live products | Corporate bonds (pilot); certificates of deposit on the RBI’s Unified Markets Interface | Tokenised funds and structured notes sold to accredited and institutional investors | Government green bonds; retail tokenised money market funds |
| Secondary trading | Planned in a later phase, on request-for-quote platforms | Through licensed distributors and platforms | On licensed virtual asset trading platforms, retail included |
| Public chains | Not used | Used in pilots, with permissioned tokens | Allowed with additional controls |
By market
India
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the RBI launched Demat 2.0 in September 2026. Corporate bonds are issued as tokens on a ledger owned by the depositories, held in investors’ existing demat accounts and settled in wholesale CBDC through the RBI’s Unified Markets Interface. The bond is the same instrument in law, and rating, trustee, listing and disclosure rules apply in full. REC, L&T and IIFL issued ₹1,025 crore between 7 and 9 September 2026 (SEBI release). Secondary trading and retail access come in later phases. The pilot entry tracks it.
Before that, the RBI issued certificates of deposit in tokenised form on the Unified Markets Interface, settled in wholesale CBDC (annual report 2025-26, para VI.55). There is no general framework for tokenised securities outside these pilots.
Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Guide on the Tokenisation of Capital Markets Products, last revised on 14 November 2025, sets out when a token is a capital markets product under the Securities and Futures Act, and how prospectus, licensing and market operator rules then apply. MAS runs Project Guardian with industry to test tokenised funds, bonds and other products, and has published frameworks for tokenised fixed income and funds under it.
Products live under this approach include UBS Asset Management’s tokenised money market fund on Ethereum and DBS’s tokenised structured notes on Ethereum, both sold to accredited or institutional investors through authorised distributors. MAS has said it will trial tokenised MAS Bills settled in wholesale CBDC (media release, 13 November 2025).
Hong Kong
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) set rules for intermediaries dealing in tokenised securities in November 2023, treating them as traditional securities with a tokenisation wrapper. A second circular the same month allowed tokenised SFC-authorised funds. On 20 April 2026 the SFC revised that circular and allowed secondary trading of tokenised authorised funds on licensed platforms, including by retail investors, with market makers, indicative net asset value and price-deviation warnings on the exchange-traded fund model.
The HKSAR Government has issued three rounds of tokenised green bonds since 2023, the latest of about HK$10 billion in November 2025. The 2026 Policy Address says digital bond issuance will be regularised, the HKMA will test tokenised Exchange Fund Bills by the end of 2026, and CMU OmniClear will set up a digital asset platform for issuing and settling digital bonds this year (para 35). ChinaAMC’s tokenised money market funds have been open to retail investors since February 2025.
For Ethereum
Singapore’s live tokenised funds and notes run on Ethereum mainnet with whitelisted, permissioned tokens. Hong Kong’s tokenisation circular (para 13) allows public permissionless networks only with additional controls, and gives a permissioned token as the example. Secondary trading of tokenised funds happens on the licensed platform’s order book, not on-chain. India’s pilots use a ledger run by market infrastructure institutions, with no public chain involved.
Open questions
- Whether India’s Demat 2.0 ledger will connect to anything outside the depositories, and when retail investors are admitted.
- Whether the token is the legal register of ownership, or a copy of an off-ledger register. Most issuers in Singapore and Hong Kong do not say.
- Whether market makers other than the fund manager’s affiliates sign up for tokenised fund trading in Hong Kong.
Next milestones
- End of 2026: HKMA tests of tokenised Exchange Fund Bills; CMU OmniClear digital asset platform.
- 2026: MAS to publish details of its trial of tokenised MAS Bills settled in wholesale CBDC.
- Later: Demat 2.0 phase two, with secondary trading on request-for-quote platforms.