SEBI Declares Demat 2.0 Tokenised Corporate Bond Pilot Successfully Launched
Key points
- SEBI announced on 10 September 2026 the successful launch of the Demat 2.0 pilot project for tokenised corporate bonds in India.
- The project operates under the 'Demat 2.0' label, situating tokenised bonds within India's existing dematerialised securities infrastructure.
- SEBI published a dedicated FAQ document alongside the announcement to support pilot participants.
- The pilot status indicates structured experimentation with real counterparties rather than a full production deployment.
- The launch positions SEBI among Asian regulators actively supervising tokenised debt trials, with implications for India's broader capital market modernisation agenda.
India’s Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) has announced the successful launch of its Demat 2.0 pilot project for tokenised corporate bonds, marking a live trial phase for blockchain-based debt issuance under the regulator’s oversight.
The initiative, operating under the Demat 2.0 label, applies tokenisation to corporate bonds within India’s dematerialised securities framework. The pilot designation indicates that real counterparties are engaged in a structured trial rather than a full production rollout, with SEBI publishing an accompanying FAQ to address participant queries.
For operators active in India’s debt capital markets, the development signals that SEBI is moving from policy exploration to supervised experimentation on tokenised fixed income, a step that typically precedes broader regulatory framework-setting. How the pilot’s scope, eligible issuers, and settlement mechanics are defined will shape the trajectory toward any eventual live regime.