India's SEBI raises over $100 million in tokenized bond pilot

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced that three issuers raised approximately $107.2 million through its Demat 2 pilot program for tokenized corporate bonds. The pilot utilizes distributed ledger technology to issue, hold, and settle bonds, integrating with the Reserve Bank of India's wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for atomic settlement. This mechanism reduces settlement risks and time, allowing issuers to receive funds on the same day. SEBI clarified that these tokenized bonds maintain the same legal status and rights as traditional paperless bonds. The pilot will proceed in three phases, with secondary trading and retail access planned for future stages within the regulatory sandbox.