Philippines Introduces Blockchain Tokenized Treasury Bonds Via PDAX

Republished By Plato

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The Philippine Bureau of Treasury (BTr) has approved the sale of tokenized treasury bonds on the blockchain, as confirmed by PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba. This initiative enables PDAX to offer these tokenized bonds on its platform, marking a significant development in financial technology.

Tokenized Treasury Bonds

Treasury bonds are fixed-interest government securities with a set maturity period. Issued by the BTr, they play a crucial role in funding the executive department’s projects and programs. Essentially, purchasing a bond signifies lending money to the government in exchange for a predetermined interest rate.

In a post on Linkedin, Nichel Gaba, the CEO of PDAX, said the bond issuance will not be the last among more usecases of blockchain technology solving real-world problems.

“This effort ushers in a world of possibilities, not only for capital market participants driving tokenization efforts everywhere, but also for the average Filipino, whose journey to investing and growing their wealth just became a whole lot safer and easier, starting with as little as PHP 500.”

Nichel Gaba, CEO, PDAX

According to Bloomberg, the BTr plans to issue at least ₱10 billion in one-year tokenized treasury bonds, maturing in November 2024. This move aims to enhance the nation’s domestic debt market.

But though this is the first time that the BTr will utilize blockchain technology to offer this security, Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana expressed that it is just a test run, and issuing tokenized bonds regularly is not yet assured:

“We will continue to study the technology and test how far we can take it.”

Erwin Sta. Ana, Deputy Treasurer, Bureau of Treasury

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PDAX: Expanding Financial Inclusion with Tokenized Bonds

In an exclusive interview with BitPinas, JV Pineda, Head of Trading for bonds at PDAX underscored their mission to broaden financial inclusion in the Philippines.

“The introduction of bonds is the perfect way to do this since we already have crypto on the platform; we have NFTs on the platform. The introduction of bonds presents another asset class for investors. So depending on people’s risk appetite, they can buy crypto or bonds at PDAX.”

JV Pineda, Head of Bonds, PDAX

Pineda also highlighted PDAX’s competitive 6.2% indicative interest rate for treasury bonds over three months, with a minimal purchase amount of ₱500.00, significantly lower than the ₱10 million minimum in traditional banks, Pineda added.

How to Buy Tokenized Treasury Bonds on PDAX App

Click the “Bonds” feature on the home page.
Fill out the form needed, which requires the user’s personal information.
Click the “Proceed” button once the three-page personal information has been finished.
Answer the “Financial Goals” section. Click “Proceed.”
Answer the “Investment Experience” section. Click “Proceed.”
Review the details provided on steps three to six, then click “Submit.”
Go to the “Trade” section of the app.
Choose “Bonds.”
Choose the bond pair to be purchased. It usually comes with PHP pair, like BILL48/PHP.
Enter the amount.
Wait for the email confirmation of the transaction. The coupon to be received has the coupon date and the maturity date when the interest will be earned.

Gaba concluded by reflecting on PDAX’s five-year journey:

“5 years after having started PDAX, we remain as excited as ever in providing safe and easy access to digital assets and cryptocurrencies, with our partners GCash (Mynt – Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.), UnionBank of the Philippines, and leading the way in crypto-remittances.”

Nichel Gaba, CEO, PDAX

This article is published on BitPinas: Philippines Introduces Blockchain Tokenized Treasury Bonds via PDAX