SEBI launches Demat 2.0 to bring tokenised corporate bonds to investors | Demat 2.0 phase focuses on bond issuances | Inshorts

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has officially launched 'Demat 2.0', a strategic initiative designed to modernize the Indian debt market by introducing tokenized corporate bonds. This phase specifically targets the streamlining of bond issuances, aiming to enhance transparency, reduce settlement times, and increase accessibility for retail and institutional investors. By leveraging distributed ledger technology, SEBI intends to eliminate traditional inefficiencies associated with paper-based or legacy electronic bond management systems. This move represents a significant regulatory endorsement of blockchain-based securities in one of the world's largest emerging markets. The integration of tokenization into the national dematerialization framework signals a shift toward programmable finance for corporate debt instruments. As India moves to digitize its capital markets, this framework provides a scalable foundation for future asset classes to be issued on-chain. The initiative is expected to lower entry barriers for investors while providing issuers with a more efficient mechanism for capital raising.