Tokenized T-bonds can now be accessed through PDAX
MANILA, Philippines — A cryptocurrency company can now provide the public access to the Bureau of Treasury’s (BTr) Tokenized Treasury Bonds (TTBs) through its website or mobile app.
The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) said that it has partnered with the BTr, LandBank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to facilitate the issuance of the TTB aiming to promote “financial inclusion and deepen market liquidity.”
“Offering these bonds to institutional investors serves as the first step to a more seamless trading and settlement experience for government securities in the Philippine financial markets,” Nichel Gaba, PDAX’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. In a separate interview of OneNews, Gaba likened the ease of accessing the TTBs through the PDAX app to opening mobile wallet apps like Gcash or Maya.
He also mentioned its accessibility by having a “lower requirement” compared with other treasury bills which barred individuals access to it.
“Now that the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Treasury have moved to digitize treasury instruments, they can be accessible to anyone for as little as P500 through the PDAX mobile app,” he said in an interview with OneNews on Thursday.
The BTr on November 20 said that it borrowed P15 billion through the issuance of the TTBs amid its high demand as a first-time offer.
The bureau also mentioned that it increased the size to P15 billion debt from an initial P10 billion due to a surge in demand, reaching a total of P31.426 billion, which exceeded the auction amount by 3.142 times.
Meanwhile, Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana said that the government is optimistic about the development given its accessibility to more “retail investors.”
“In the future, we envision these (TTBs) to be a security that our retail investors can acquire in denominations that are even lower than our existing retail products,” Sta. Ana said in a statement.
“In addition, we envision market participants to be able to trade these securities among themselves and to be able to settle their transactions in real-time. Turning this vision into reality, however, will require us to build the infrastructure that will enable it incrementally,” he added. — with reports from Louise Maureen Simeon
- Latest
- Trending
