Doha Bank has completed a $150 million digital bond that was settled instantly on Euroclear’s distributed ledger infrastructure, highlighting how regulated DLT systems, not public blockchains, are becoming the preferred avenues for tokenized institutional debt.
The Qatari lender listed its digital bonds on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, achieving same-day settlement via Euroclear’s digital financial market infrastructure, a licensed DLT platform operated by a central securities depository.
Standard Chartered was the sole global coordinator and arranger of the transaction, leading the structuring, execution and distribution of the Bank of Doha’s $150 million digital bond.
A growing number of banks and regulators in the Middle East and Asia are adopting licensed distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms for digital bond issuance to ensure regulatory oversight. Meanwhile, selective use cases, such as DBS’s tokenized structured notes on Ethereum, show that public blockchains are also deployed where investor access, programmability and market design make openness viable.
“The Bank of Doha’s first digital bond issuance highlights the tangible, real-world efficiencies that cutting-edge digital infrastructure brings to capital markets, as well as our clients’ growing appetite for this next-generation capability and execution,” Salman Ansari, the bank’s global head of capital markets, said in a statement.
Designed for regulated markets
Unlike public blockchains, which are open networks, Euroclear’s DLT is designed for regulated capital markets, providing controlled access, legal finality and integration with existing custody and settlement systems.
This structure allows issuers to benefit from the efficiencies of tokenization, such as T+0 settlement and automated recordkeeping, while remaining compatible with international market standards and the requirements of institutional investors.
“This transaction demonstrates that same-day execution and settlement is possible through a neutral, regulated DLT infrastructure that aligns with established market standards – reducing friction and delays while maintaining the level of assurance expected by issuers and investors,” said Sébastien Danloy, Chief Commercial Officer at Euroclear.
The transaction is part of a broader regional initiative to modernize capital markets infrastructure rather than creating parallel crypto-native systems.
Orion, developed by HSBC, has been used for sovereign and corporate digital bonds in Hong Kong, mainland China and the Middle East, and is designed to integrate directly with existing post-trade infrastructures such as Euroclear, Clearstream and Hong Kong’s Central Moneymarkets Unit.
This interoperability allows issuers to achieve faster settlement and on-chain recordkeeping while keeping custody, listing and investor access anchored in familiar market structures.
Onyx, now marketed under JPMorgan’s Kinexys brand, plays a similar role for bank-issued debt securities and commercial paper, enabling end-to-end issuance and near-instant settlement using tokenized cash.
Standard Chartered said the deal reflected growing customer demand for digital issuance.
Together, the deal adds to a growing number of digital bond issuances in the Middle East and Asia, where banks and regulators are gradually moving tokenization from pilot projects to real markets by integrating DLT into existing capital markets infrastructure rather than reinventing it.
