The Hong Kong government priced HKD 20 billion ($2.6 billion) of digital green bonds on 28 September, setting a global record for digital bond issuance and incorporating tokenised deposits into primary settlement of the Hong Kong dollar tranche. The four-currency offering expands the use of digital money in bond markets, although its settlement cycle remains T+1.

Elsewhere, Coinbase’s approval to establish its own clearing house and fresh CFTC staff guidance on tokenised investments put the focus on how digital assets fit into US market infrastructure. DTCC’s investment in iCapital and Capitolis’s planned acquisition of eSecLending point to investment in private-market processing and securities lending, while MAS committed further funding to Singapore’s equities market.

Read more on the week's key developments:

1. Hong Kong prices HKD 20 billion digital green bonds across four currencies

The Hong Kong government priced about HKD 20 billion ($2.6 billion) of digital green bonds in four currencies on 28 September and announced the result on 29 September. Tranches were HKD 5.5 billion ($701 million) for two years at 3.80%, CNY 7.5 billion ($1.1 billion) for five years at 1.65%, $200 million for three years at 5.023% and EUR 450 million ($511 million) for four years at 3.734%. Subscription ranged from 1.3 to 11.3 times. The Hong Kong dollar tranche incorporated tokenised deposits into primary settlement. The bonds clear and settle through the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) Central Moneymarkets Unit, with HSBC's Orion as the digital assets platform.

The government calls this the first digital bond to integrate Hong Kong dollar tokenised deposits, and Financial Secretary Paul Chan said regular tokenised offerings will follow. Only one of four tranches carries the new cash leg, and the settlement cycle remains T+1 (one business day after the trade date), so the change so far sits in the money used, not in speed.

2. CFTC divisions clarify tokenised customer-fund investments and blockchain recordkeeping

On 24 September the CFTC's Market Participants, Market Oversight and Clearing and Risk divisions updated their crypto asset FAQs to address tokenised customer-fund investments and blockchain recordkeeping. The updated guidance says staff would not object to tokenised money market fund shares as initial or variation margin for uncleared swaps when the fund qualifies, the token carries the same or functionally equivalent legal and economic rights as the traditional share, and all other applicable regulatory requirements are met. The update clarified the conditions under which futures commission merchants (FCMs) and clearing organisations may invest customer funds in tokenised permitted investments. Staff also would not object to on-chain recordkeeping that meets applicable requirements.

These are staff positions, not rules. FCMs and clearing organisations must demonstrate that tokenised customer-fund investments preserve the traditional asset’s legal and economic rights, satisfy the applicable investment limits and are held with an acceptable depository. Existing staff guidance would not object to a 2% capital charge on proprietary payment stablecoins held by an FCM, against a minimum 20% on bitcoin and ether inventory.

3. Coinbase wins CFTC approval for a USDC-native clearing house

The CFTC registered Coinbase Clearing LLC as a derivatives clearing organisation on 28 September, Coinbase said. The clearing house is designed to take USDC as collateral, settle around the clock and handle fully collateralised contracts. Coinbase's margined derivatives business and its planned single-stock perpetual futures stay with existing third-party clearers. It joins Coinbase Financial Markets (an FCM) and Coinbase Derivatives (a designated contract market) in one regulated group.

Owning the clearing leg lets Coinbase set collateral rules and settlement hours within regulatory requirements. The design stops short of margined products, which carry leverage and the larger credit exposure, so the new clearing house starts with fully collateralised contracts. Coinbase disclosed no volumes or launch date.

4. DTCC takes a stake in iCapital

DTCC announced on 28 September a strategic investment in iCapital, the alternative investment platform for wealth managers. The amount is undisclosed. Talia Klein, DTCC's head of wealth and investment solutions, joins iCapital's board as an observer. The companies plan to further integrate DTCC's Alternative Investment Product (AIP) with iCapital's platform across transaction processing, data exchange, access, administration and reporting. iCapital services $1.2 trillion in assets, including $327 billion on its alternatives platform, and serves nearly 3,900 wealth firms and 144,000 financial professionals.

The planned integration would bring DTCC’s processing standards to iCapital’s private-fund workflows. Connecting transaction processing, data exchange and reporting could reduce administrative friction for wealth managers and asset managers as they handle more alternative investments. The announcement gives no implementation timetable.

5. Capitolis agrees to buy eSecLending for $200 million

Capitolis announced on 29 September that it will buy eSecLending in an all-cash deal worth $200 million, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals. eSecLending (Europe) Limited is excluded. The 26-year-old firm provides securities lending and collateral management for pension funds, insurers and asset managers. Parthenon Capital, eSecLending's owner, is investing in Capitolis as part of the transaction. Capitolis, founded in 2017, calls it its fourth acquisition in five years.

The purchase gives Capitolis a direct line to the asset owners whose holdings supply the securities that banks and prime brokers borrow. That adds an agent-lending franchise to a financial resource optimisation business. The announcement gives no revenue or lendable-asset figures, and the European carve-out leaves that operating company outside the deal.

6. Franklin Templeton puts tokenised money fund shares to work as Bybit collateral

Franklin Templeton and Bybit announced on 28 September that eligible clients can pledge tokenised money market fund shares issued on Franklin Templeton's Benji platform as off-exchange collateral. The shares stay in custody on the ByCustody platform while their value is mirrored in Bybit's trading environment, giving clients trading credit lines in Tether (USDT) or USDC. A tokenised wealth product on the Mantle network is planned. Franklin Templeton manages $1.7 trillion in assets and Bybit reports 80 million users.

The structure lets a crypto venue accept a regulated fund as margin without moving the asset onto the exchange. The announcement gives no haircuts, limits or detailed eligibility terms, and its user figure describes Bybit's wider base, so institutional uptake is unproven. The CFTC guidance in item 2 concerns US-regulated derivatives activity.

7. Cboe secures its S&P 500 options licence to 2051

Cboe Global Markets and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on 29 September a 25-year extension of Cboe's exclusive licence to list options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) through 2051. Full commercial terms are undisclosed, although Cboe said revised royalty terms begin in 2027. SPX options traded 970.6 million contracts in 2025, up 25% on the prior year and the fourth consecutive annual record, according to Cboe, an average of 3.9 million a day. The licence dates to the product's 1983 launch. The parties left open collaboration on new products, including tokenised options.

The tokenised options line names no product, venue or date and adds no evidence yet. The substance is licence certainty. Exclusivity to 2051 protects Cboe's SPX options franchise, so rival exchanges compete for S&P 500 exposure through other instruments.

8. MAS allocates SGD 1.45 billion to five asset managers to deepen Singapore equities

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on 29 September that Amundi, Franklin Templeton, HSBC Asset Management, M&G Investments and Natixis Investment Managers won the third batch of its Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP), with SGD 1.45 billion ($1.1 billion) to be placed. Allocations total SGD 5.4 billion ($4.2 billion) of a SGD 6.5 billion ($5.1 billion) programme. MAS also committed SGD 20 million ($15.6 million) from the Financial Sector Development Fund to a market-making grant for an initial group of about 80 small and mid-cap stocks, as well as newly listed stocks, through 31 December 2028.

About 83% of the programme is now allocated, leaving SGD 1.1 billion ($0.9 billion). MAS expects to complete its review of proposals for a fourth batch in 2027. The grant targets tighter bid-ask spreads and lower execution costs, but the announcement gives no baseline spread against which to measure its effect.

9. JP Morgan automates US listed options matching through DTCC's CTM

DTCC said on 23 September that JP Morgan uses its Central Trade Manager (CTM) service to automate the matching of US listed options trades, reducing manual intervention in post-trade processing. Across CTM's listed-options workflow, 32 buy-side clients are live in production, and monthly matched volume has risen 525% since July 2024. The capability was introduced in 2023. JP Morgan's Vincenzina Megna said the aim is operational efficiency and a better client experience.

The 525% rise comes with no volume base, so it does not establish the workflow's absolute scale. The 32 live clients give a countable adoption base for a workflow that has run since 2023, and the pace of client additions would show whether it is spreading. DTCC cites commissions reconciliation and straight-through processing as the main gains.

10. Binance accepts seven tokenised securities as margin collateral under an Abu Dhabi prospectus

Binance said seven bStocks tokenised securities became eligible collateral from 12:00 UTC on 30 September, representing PDD Holdings, Forward Industries, SharonAI, Wendy's, Adobe, Hewlett Packard and Zoom. They count toward Cross Margin, Portfolio Margin and Portfolio Margin Pro for eligible users in permitted jurisdictions. An update clarified that eligibility is not restricted to VIP 3 and above. Borrowing the bStocks tokens is not supported. The tokens are offered under an approved prospectus in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and classified as certificates representing financial instruments.

According to Binance, the tokens are certificates providing exposure to the underlying shares without conferring shareholder rights. This contrasts with the CFTC guidance in item 2, which requires tokenised eligible assets to preserve the legal and economic rights of their traditional form. Binance publishes collateral ratios that determine how much of the tokens’ value counts towards margin, while access is restricted to eligible users in permitted jurisdictions.