Doha Bank Completes $150M Digital Bond Settled Instantly with Standard Chartered

Doha Bank has successfully issued its first digital US dollar bond, raising $150 million through floating-rate notes that settle immediately using advanced distributed ledger technology.

Key Takeaways:

Doha Bank has finalized a $150 million digital bond featuring instant T+0 settlement.
Standard Chartered led the transaction utilizing Euroclear’s regulated DLT platform.
This issuance underscores the growing acceptance of digital bonds within the Gulf region.

The floating-rate notes are listed on the London Stock Exchange's International Securities Market and achieved same-day, or T+0, settlement via Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI), as announced on Monday.

This transaction marks one of the first digital US dollar bond issuances from Qatar and highlights the region's commitment to enhancing its capital markets infrastructure.

Doha Bank Completes $150M Instantly Settled Digital Bond Led by Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered's Role in the Digital Bond Issuance

Standard Chartered took on the responsibilities of sole global coordinator and arranger for the bond issuance, overseeing its structuring, execution, and distribution.

In contrast to traditional securities that typically settle one or two days post-trade, Doha Bank's digital notes were issued, allocated, and settled in real-time.

The Euroclear’s D-FMI platform, which operates as a permissioned distributed ledger via a central securities depository, managed the issuance and settlement. It remains fully integrated with current market standards and post-trade processes, with Citi acting as the issuing and paying agent for this transaction.

Doha Bank noted that this issuance forms part of its larger funding strategy by diversifying its capital sources and expanding its investor base.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Fahad Al-Thani, the bank’s group CEO, emphasized that this transaction highlights how digital infrastructure can enhance efficiency and access to markets while cementing Qatar’s role as a regional financial center.

He also remarked that this initiative aligns with the goals of the Qatar Central Bank to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the country’s capital markets.

Standard Chartered pointed out that this bond reflects the increasing institutional demand for digital issuance, which can provide tangible operational advantages.

Salman Ansari, the bank’s global head of capital markets, stated that this deal demonstrates how regulated digital infrastructure is transitioning from experimental phases to active market functions.

The issuance also signifies a wider trend in the industry that prefers permissioned distributed ledger systems over public blockchains for tokenized debts.

Regulated platforms like Euroclear’s D-FMI enable issuers to take advantage of benefits such as instant settlement and automated record-keeping while maintaining legal certainty, controlled access, and compatibility with custody and clearing frameworks favored by institutional investors.

Successful Same-Day Settlement and Market Integration

Euroclear reported that this transaction illustrates that same-day settlement can occur without disrupting existing market structures.

Sebastien Danloy, Chief Business Officer at Euroclear, noted, “It is equally crucial that integration with traditional secondary-market services and trading venues ensures that investors continue to have access to liquidity.”

In related news, Mastercard is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire the crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. This acquisition would further solidify Mastercard's commitment to stablecoins and on-chain settlement capabilities.

If successful, this deal would provide Mastercard increased control over how both fiat and digital assets are settled across its network, especially as payment companies trend towards a continuous, 24/7 transaction model.

These negotiations come amid a growing competitive landscape, highlighted by Stripe's recent acquisition of stablecoin firm Bridge and Coinbase’s interest in BVNK—underscoring the race among payment providers to secure the necessary infrastructure as stablecoins transition from mere trading platforms to integral parts of daily commerce.