Blockchain Bonds & ABS: Why Moving private credit Onto‑Chain Is No Longer Optional
1 | The Legacy Pain Points
Traditional settlement, reconciliation, and opaque cash-flow waterfalls still add days of latency and billions in cost to global fixed-income markets. Issuers face bloated post-trade fees, while investors endure slow, error-prone servicing—especially in complex securitisations.
2 | What Changes When the Ledger Is Shared
Tokenising bonds and ABS removes friction at every step:
Atomic settlement (instant DvP)
Self-executing servicing via smart contracts
Real-time investor transparency
24/7 access and fractional ownership
These are not future promises—they’re operational realities.
3 | Real Deals: Proof You Can Price Today
Over the past 36 months, tokenised fixed-income deals have moved from test labs to public markets. Here's how key players around the world are making it real:
Switzerland sets the benchmark.
UBS issued a CHF 375M bond on SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) with dual listing—digital and traditional. Settlement was atomic, showing how DLT can coexist with legacy rails.
France adds ESG transparency.
Société Générale launched a €10M green bond on Ethereum, embedding carbon disclosures directly in the smart contract for real-time ESG visibility.
Hong Kong scales up.
The HK government used HSBC Orion to issue a HK$6B multi-currency green bond—settling T+0 and plugging directly into the city's clearing systems.
Europe tests CBDC.
EIB’s €100M “Project Venus” bond settled with Banque de France’s wholesale CBDC, executing cross-chain DvP on Ethereum in under 30 seconds.
China joins via Hong Kong.
GF Securities issued a tokenised note on HashKey Chain, the first security under Hong Kong’s new digital asset framework.
The Gulf joins the party.
On July 3, 2025, ADX, HSBC, and FAB launched MENA’s first fully digital bond, listed on a compliant GCC-native DLT venue.
Switzerland pilots fractionalisation.
SIX and Pictet tokenised bond baskets and fractionalised them into micro‑lots for tailored portfolio construction—turning chunky CUSIPs into flexible wealth management assets.
The result: Over $11B in tokenised bonds and ABS is now outstanding, triple the volume of last year. Venues range from permissioned (SDX, Orion) to public (Ethereum, HashKey), and cash legs span stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and CBDCs.
4 | Why ABS May Benefit Even More
Securitisations are primed for disruption:
Smart waterfalls reduce trustee costs and errors
Real-time loan performance via data oracles
Automated triggers for covenant breaches
Fractional notes open access to new investor classes
5 | Regulatory Tailwinds & Guardrails
GCC Momentum: ADX’s new framework shows Gulf regulators now recognise DLT-native debt.
Swiss Progress: SIX–Pictet’s pilot supports ongoing FINMA and SNB DLT Act guidance.
Global Convergence: EU MiCAR, the US SEC, and BIS all treat tokenised debt as same-risk, same-rules, with smart contract standards in progress
6 | A Playbook for Issuers
Prototype a digital “shadow” issuance to benchmark latency and fees.
Pick the cash leg—stablecoin, tokenised deposit, or CBDC.
Use standardised contracts (ICMA tags, IVS formats) to ensure auditability and interoperability.
7 | Where Record Nexus Fits
We help structure IP-backed (royalty flows, brand value, or patent portfolios) private credit offerings which can be tokenised on-chain via Ethereum standards.
Our dashboards monitor real-time performance and hash every assumption to blockchain for audit-readiness.
8 | The Bottom Line
With Abu Dhabi listing its first digital bond and Switzerland proving fractionalisation at scale, the "wait and see" era is over. On‑chain debt is no longer an experiment—it’s the new infrastructure. The only question is: Will you lead the transition or lag behind it?
