Tokenized commercial paper
Tokenized commercial paper is short-term debt issued and recorded as tokens on a distributed ledger. Companies and financial institutions use commercial paper to borrow money from investors for a limited period. The digital record tracks the debt instrument and its transfers while the issuer remains responsible for repaying the borrowing at maturity.
The token represents the debt instrument and can support its issuance, transfer and servicing on the ledger. A digital platform can also coordinate the securities transfer with the payment made by the investor. Treasury teams use the instrument for funding, and the issuer remains responsible for repayment when the debt is recorded and settled on a ledger.
Why short-term debt suits a ledger
A commercial paper program issues again and again, often for a few days or weeks. Each issue means a payment from the investors to the issuer and a repayment at maturity, so settlement time and the cost of cash buffers come back with every roll. Clearstream runs D7 DLT under the EU Central Securities Depositories Regulation and started it with commercial paper and medium-term notes.
The EIB issue on Clearstream D7
The European Investment Bank issued the first DLT-native commercial paper on D7, as Clearstream announced on 29 June 2026: 77.5 million euros for ten business days, with Citi as sole dealer and issuing and paying agent. The buyers were BIL, DekaBank, DZ BANK, Eurex Clearing, Union Investment and Volksbank Mittlerer Schwarzwald.
The paper was then used for funding. The ECB had decided to accept DLT-native securities issued through central securities depositories as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. DekaBank and Eurex Clearing used the paper for financing with the Deutsche Bundesbank, through Clearstream's triparty collateral service and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS). The page on tokenized collateral covers that step.
OCBC on Kinexys
Outside Europe, the Singapore bank OCBC set up a 1 billion US dollar digital US commercial paper program on J.P. Morgan's Digital Debt Service, which runs on Kinexys Digital Assets. The first issue, a six-month tokenized note, took place on 20 August 2025 and went to one institutional investor, according to OCBC's release of 25 August 2025. OCBC received the funds within minutes of the completed transaction. The program carries P-1 from Moody's and F1+ from Fitch, the highest short-term ratings of the two agencies.
The cash leg in euro
Paper that settles in minutes needs cash that moves on the same terms. Since 21 September 2026, the Eurosystem's Pontes connects DLT platforms with T2, so the cash leg of a tokenized issue can settle in central bank money. The alternatives are an e-money token under MiCA or tokenized deposits of a bank. The page on delivery versus payment compares these forms of money.
Upcoming events on settlement and digital money in Germany
Finance Loop and tokenized commercial paper
The forms of money that settle a DLT trade were the subject of the payments panel at the Frankfurt Forum on Digital Assets & Applications, with speakers from the Deutsche Bundesbank, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, as well as DZ Bank and AllUnity. Finance Loop has a cooperation with 21X, the Frankfurt venue that trades and settles tokenized securities.
Payments & Digital Money
Investment & Digital Assets
What is tokenized commercial paper?
Short-term debt issued, held and settled as a token on a distributed ledger. The legal instrument is the same commercial paper; the register and the settlement run on the ledger.
Can tokenized commercial paper be pledged with the Eurosystem?
Yes, when it is issued through a central securities depository. After the ECB accepted DLT-native securities as collateral, DekaBank and Eurex Clearing used the EIB paper from D7 for Bundesbank financing.
How fast does tokenized commercial paper settle?
OCBC reported that it received the funds within minutes of its first issue on Kinexys in August 2025.
Who issued the first DLT-native commercial paper on D7?
The European Investment Bank issued it, with 77.5 million euros for ten business days and Citi as sole dealer, announced by Clearstream on 29 June 2026.
Tokenized commercial paper and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers tokenized commercial paper in its Payments & Digital Money track, next to tokenized collateral, tokenized repo and the cash leg in central bank money. Finance Loop brings people from bank treasuries, corporate treasuries, custodians and market infrastructures together at events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
Finance Loop is a professional network supporting the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.