SBI Digital Markets advances tokenised securities in Project Guardian

Working with various financial institutions, SBIDM aims to create a complete framework for both primary and secondary market distribution of tokenised assets, connecting regulated digital asset exchanges across jurisdictions. To improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, the firm is collaborating with important players in blockchain technology. 

In the company press release, officials from SBI Digital Markets noted the company’s commitment this year to establishing regulated frameworks for tokenised securities. According to them, SBIDM has developed workflows that cover the entire lifecycle, from token issuance and digital custody to secondary trading and cross-border distribution. 

This includes dual issuance in traditional and tokenised formats, alongside an open, interoperable system that accommodates institutional investors at various digital readiness levels.

Tokenised Fixed Income and Wealth Management pilots

In the Fixed Income pilot, SBIDM is expanding its tokenised securities distribution network to support global secondary market liquidity. The firm has developed a regulated structure that allows for issuance in both traditional and tokenized formats, enabling wider accessibility for diverse investors.  

Through a blockchain-agnostic technology framework, SBIDM is connecting regulated digital asset exchanges across multiple jurisdictions to support cross-border liquidity. Within the next two months, SBIDM plans to launch a regulated end-to-end framework for tokenised assets, beginning with a structured note backed by luxury wines and expanding into intellectual property and commodities. 

For the Asset and Wealth Management pilot, SBIDM continues to build on its work from the 2023 Project Guardian technical pilot with UBS Asset Management. This year’s pilot explores the commercial potential of a tokenised UBS fund structured as a Variable Capital Company (VCC). Using smart contracts for fund subscription and redemption workflows, SBIDM streamlined interactions among distributors, issuers, and administrators through an interoperable setup that improves efficiency, transparency, and cost management. 

To enable seamless communication across blockchain networks, SBIDM integrated Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which allowed it to establish a digital transfer agent smart contract. This framework demonstrated the feasibility of using blockchain-based smart contracts to improve operational efficiency and transparency for the mutual fund industry.