BSP to Run 2026 Wholesale CBDC Pilot for On‑Chain Settlement of Tokenized Government Bonds
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will run a second proof of concept for a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2026 to provide on‑chain settlement for tokenized government bonds. The move responds to a settlement gap exposed during the Bureau of the Treasury’s pilot issuance of ₱10 billion in tokenized treasury bonds (TTBs), which used blockchain for issuance but relied on conventional systems for settlement. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said the new POC will broaden participation beyond Project Agila — the BSP’s first wholesale CBDC pilot (concluded April 2024) that used Hyperledger Fabric — to better test bond settlement workflows and scale evaluation of interbank, securities and cross‑border use cases. The bank is developing a strategic CBDC roadmap and has noted future work may not require blockchain/DLT, keeping options open to compete with unregulated cryptocurrencies. Traders should watch for updates on participating banks, settlement rails, and whether the POC adopts DLT or alternative infrastructures, as these choices will affect settlement speed, liquidity management, on‑chain tokenized bond market structure and regulatory signals to crypto markets.
Neutral
This news is neutral for crypto market prices. It signals meaningful institutional adoption of tokenization and potential improvements to settlement infrastructure — developments that tend to be positive for long‑term utility and institutional trust in tokenized assets. However, the announcement is a planned POC rather than a live mainnet rollout or an immediate change to trading liquidity, so there is limited near‑term impact on crypto prices. Key factors tempering short‑term bullishness: the POC is scheduled for 2026, participation must be broadened before testing, and BSP may choose non‑DLT infrastructure, which could reduce direct demand for blockchain tokens. For traders: expect low immediate volatility from the announcement itself, but monitor follow‑ups (participants, chosen rails, technical design) as those could create medium‑term bullish signals for tokenized‑asset markets and infrastructure tokens if DLT‑based settlement is adopted and leads to increased on‑chain issuance and trading.