The Philippines sold tokenized government bonds for the first time on Monday, a possible sign that the country’s government debt market is trying to make widespread use of digital ledger technology. The Treasury Department sold 15 billion pesos ($270 million) of debt maturing in November 2024, according to a statement. The bonds are issued to institutional investors and carry an annual interest rate of 6.5%.
The bonds will be issued as digital tokens and will be held on the Distributed Ledger Technology Registry, a blockchain-based registry owned by the Treasury Department. The bureau will implement a dual registration structure, with the DLT registry operating in parallel with the National Registry of Uncertified Securities (NRoSS). (Bloomberg)