Philippines Issues Maiden Tokenised Treasury Bonds via PDAX

In a notable advancement for the Philippine cryptocurrency sector, crypto exchange PDAX has collaborated with the Bureau of the Treasury of the Philippines (BTR), Landbank of the Philippines, and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to launch the country’s inaugural tokenised treasury bonds (TTBs).

The landmark development was announced during the Bureau of the Treasury’s 126th anniversary celebration. The BTR allocated PHP 15 billion (equivalent to US$270 million) in these maiden tokenised treasury bonds, which were primarily targeted at institutional investors. These bonds boasted a coupon rate of 6.5% per annum, with bids received totaling PHP 31.426 billion, a figure considerably exceeding the initial offering of PHP 10 billion.

Nichel Gaba

Nichel Gaba, the CEO of PDAX, expressed the significance of this initiative, underscoring the transformative potential of blockchain technology in enhancing the trading and settlement processes for government securities.

“Offering these bonds to institutional investors serves as the first step to a more seamless trading and settlement experience for government securities in the Philippine financial markets,”

said Nichel.

With this initiative, the Philippines joins other financial hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong in adopting tokenised bonds. This strategy is expected to augment financial transparency and efficiency. Additionally, it aims to reduce transactional costs, thereby lowering entry barriers in terms of size and liquidity requirements.

Erwin Sta. Ana

Erwin Sta. Ana, Deputy Treasurer of the Philippines, shared insights into the future role of TTBs. He highlighted their part in the government’s digitalisation roadmap, which focuses on financial inclusion and market liquidity.

“In addition, we envision market participants to be able to trade these securities among themselves and to be able to settle their transactions in real-time. Turning this vision into reality, however, will require us to build the infrastructure that will enable it incrementally,”

he added.

At present, the initial tokenised treasury bonds are accessible to qualified institutional buyers through the DBP and Landbank. For retail investors, PDAX offers other treasury bills, providing a digital platform for investments in low-risk, government-backed instruments with a minimum investment threshold, offering a yield of approximately 6.2% and a 91-day maturity period.