Indian state-run infrastructure financier REC raised INR 5.0 billion ($52.6 million) through a tokenised corporate bond under the Securities and Exchange Board of India regulatory sandbox. The transaction combined tokenised securities with the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) in an atomic delivery-versus-payment process, completing pay-in, allotment and listing on the same day.

Elsewhere, Standard Chartered expanded institutional crypto trading into the UAE and South Korea set out a three-stage roadmap for tokenised securities. Liquid Network paused after around $320 million in Bitcoin was withdrawn, while global standard setters addressed cyber resilience and FMIs’ dependence on third-party providers.

Read more on the week’s key developments:

1. REC completes INR 5.0 billion tokenised corporate-bond pilot

Indian state-run infrastructure financier REC completed a tokenised corporate-bond pilot on 7 September under SEBI’s regulatory sandbox, raising INR 5.0 billion ($52.6 million) at a 7.30% coupon for one year and nine months. Bids reached INR 7.96 billion ($83.8 million). The transaction used the National Stock Exchange’s electronic bidding platform, atomic delivery-versus-payment settlement and the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency. Pay-in, allotment and listing on NSE and BSE occurred on the same day. REC described it as India’s first pilot issue of tokenised corporate bonds.

REC’s claim that the issue was roughly eight times oversubscribed compares the bids with its INR 1.0 billion ($10.5 million) base size. Against the INR 5.0 billion ultimately accepted, the book was about 1.6 times covered. Securities and central-bank money moved through a single atomic settlement process without changing the existing bond-distribution venue.

2. Standard Chartered launches institutional Bitcoin and Ether trading in the UAE

Standard Chartered launched deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading for eligible institutional clients through its Dubai International Financial Centre operation on 3 September. The Dubai Financial Services Authority-regulated service uses the bank’s existing electronic trading channels, and clients can settle with their chosen custodian, including Standard Chartered’s UAE digital-asset custody service. The bank said the launch makes it the first global systemically important bank to offer institutional spot crypto trading in the UAE.

The bank’s UK branch began institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading in July 2025. The UAE launch extends the capability across another regulatory jurisdiction. Using Standard Chartered for both execution and custody can reduce the number of external relationships required to access deliverable crypto markets.

3. South Korea sets three-stage roadmap for tokenised stocks, bonds and funds

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) published a three-stage tokenised-securities roadmap on 4 September covering conventional stocks, bonds and funds as well as fractional investments. Phase one starts when amendments to the Electronic Registration Act take effect on 4 February 2027, initially covering institutional private money-market funds and bonds, certain unlisted equities and publicly offered fractional-investment securities. Subsequent phases expand eligible public securities and introduce on-chain payments linked to stablecoins.

South Korea is starting part of the programme with instruments reserved for institutional investors while linking securities companies, the Korea Securities Depository and eventually exchange infrastructure. Its wholesale-first design separates it from tokenisation regimes centred primarily on fractional retail products and places clearing, settlement and rights management inside the same capital-market architecture.

4. Liquid Network pauses after $320 million Bitcoin withdrawal

Liquid Network, a Bitcoin settlement network launched by Blockstream in 2018, paused new transactions after purported white-hat hackers withdrew around 4,000 of the 4,200 BTC held in its Federation wallet on 6 September. The wallet holds the Bitcoin backing Liquid Bitcoin one-for-one. Blockstream provides the technology, while federation members operate and oversee the network. Liquid said the funds moved through SideSwap using an authorised credential for transfers back to the Bitcoin blockchain, although the key itself was not compromised. Federation bridge nodes supporting transfers between Liquid and the Bitcoin blockchain were disabled.

Blockchain security firm CertiK subsequently reported that 3,400 BTC had been returned, leaving 598.5 BTC worth about $47 million outstanding. The incident disrupted infrastructure designed for faster Bitcoin settlement and the issuance of stablecoins and tokenised securities. The withdrawal through an authorised route and suspension of transaction access put the software and operational controls governing Liquid’s federated settlement model under scrutiny.

5. CPMI-IOSCO publishes cyber toolkit and examines third-party risks at FMIs

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a cyber-resilience toolkit and a separate discussion paper on third-party service-provider risks on 8 September. The voluntary toolkit supplements their 2016 cyber-resilience guidance and supports implementation of operational-resilience elements within the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures. The accompanying paper examines the growing reliance of payment systems, central securities depositories, securities settlement systems, central counterparties and other FMIs on external providers, particularly for critical services. Comments close on 1 December.

The third-party paper extends resilience analysis beyond an individual clearing house or settlement system. Shared cloud, software, communications or data suppliers create dependencies that can cut across otherwise separate FMIs. This changes vendor management from a bilateral outsourcing issue into a market-wide concentration question for institutions whose operating standards are anchored in the same CPMI-IOSCO framework.

6. SEBI reviews derivatives settlement after Closing Auction Session rollout

SEBI announced on 3 September that it would review the settlement-price methodology for derivatives following implementation of the Closing Auction Session (CAS) in India’s equity cash market. The regulator introduced CAS to strengthen closing-price discovery, but derivatives settlement creates a direct link between prices formed in the cash-market closing process and expiring contracts. SEBI said it would examine the methodology and issue a discussion paper.

Under SEBI’s existing framework, the final settlement price for index derivatives is the closing price of the underlying index on expiry. Closing-auction design is therefore not confined to cash equities. It directly changes the reference price applied to derivative positions, placing auction liquidity, price formation and derivatives settlement inside the same market-structure problem.

7. ADX and Virtu launch electronic block trading for Abu Dhabi equities

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and US market maker Virtu Financial launched Virtu’s POSIT block-trading indications network for ADX-listed equities on 8 September. The service follows enhancements to ADX’s Negotiated Block Trade facility, and Virtu completed electronic block trades through the upgraded mechanism. Trades remain on the exchange and settle on T+2 through Abu Dhabi Central Securities Depository (CSD). Arqaam Capital provides connectivity, brokerage and post-trade services for firms that are not direct ADX members.

The design inserts an electronic liquidity-discovery layer without replacing ADX’s existing execution and settlement infrastructure. Large institutional orders can search for liquidity through POSIT while the resulting transaction remains inside the domestic exchange and CSD framework. Virtu also describes Abu Dhabi as the first phase of a broader Middle East and North Africa deployment.

8. CME agrees to enter European dairy derivatives through EEX transition

CME Group and European Energy Exchange (EEX), an energy and commodity exchange, agreed on 8 September to transition EEX’s European dairy business to CME before the end of 2027, subject to closing conditions. EEX intends to phase out its dairy franchise and support the transition of indices underpinning its futures, including European butter and skimmed-milk-powder benchmarks. CME plans to introduce European dairy indices, futures and options alongside its existing US dairy derivatives business.

If completed, the agreement will give CME an entry point into European dairy derivatives as EEX withdraws, bringing US and European dairy risk-management products within one global exchange group. CME says US dairy volumes have risen 73% over five years, giving it an existing distribution and clearing base from which to build the European franchise.

9. tZERO to provide clearing and custody infrastructure for Archax Markets’ US expansion

Digital-securities infrastructure provider tZERO said on 8 September that its broker-dealer subsidiaries had established a correspondent clearing relationship with Archax Markets, the newly approved US broker-dealer subsidiary of UK-based digital-asset platform Archax Group. Archax Markets has received Financial Industry Regulatory Authority membership approval and completed Securities and Exchange Commission broker-dealer registration. The tZERO relationship will provide access to correspondent clearing, digital-security custody, escrow and secondary trading for conventional and tokenised securities. Archax expects to begin US operations in the third quarter of 2026.

Archax plans to enter the US as an introducing broker, using clearing, custody and secondary-market infrastructure supplied through tZERO’s regulated network. This creates a different model from standalone tokenisation platforms that provide issuance technology but leave broker-dealer and post-trade functions to separate counterparties.

10. Canada starts trial of settlement-fail fees for government securities

The Canadian Depository for Securities began the first stage of Canada’s settlement-fail fee trial for Government of Canada bonds and Treasury bills on 8 September. The framework was developed through the Canadian Fixed-Income Forum’s Collateral Infrastructure and Market Practices Advisory Group. During the minimum 18-month first stage, settlement failures and associated fees are calculated but not charged, while fail statistics are published and participants receive indicative fee reports.

The dry-run structure lets the market measure behaviour before imposing an economic penalty. The initial evidence set covers the frequency, persistence and indicative cost of failed delivery before any mandatory charge is introduced. A later decision by the Canadian Fixed-Income Forum is required before actual fee payments begin.