Singapore has reinforced its role as a financial innovator by launching a pilot project to issue tokenised government bonds settled in central bank digital currency (CBDC). This marks a significant step towards agile and interconnected digital public finance.
A Large-Scale Experiment
At the 2025 Singapore FinTech Festival, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled a pilot project called MAS Tokenised Bills. These treasury bills will be issued digitally and settled using the digital Singapore dollar. This initiative represents a turning point, as the state positions itself as both a regulator and a builder of digital monetary networks.
Towards open and interoperable standards
The MAS director emphasised the importance of avoiding a fragmented landscape in which incompatible tokens are issued by different blockchain networks. The goal is for tokens to be backed by recognised assets—such as bonds, funds, and bank liabilities—and to be exchangeable on multiple platforms.
The Global Layer One project, launched in 2022, aims to establish these open standards to ensure the smooth circulation of tokenised assets.
Three asset streams under consideration
The experiment focuses on three types of collateralised assets:
- Singapore’s CBDC, already in use for certain interbank loans via banks such as DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, and United Overseas Bank.
- Regulated stablecoins, governed by a Singaporean legislative framework since 2023.
- Tokenised bank liabilities, which offer greater flexibility to the private sector.
Each option has its advantages: the legitimacy of CBDC, the fluidity of stablecoins, and the flexibility of bank liabilities, along with challenges in interoperability and governance.
Challenges for the future of finance
Through this project, Singapore is paving the way for programmable finance, with 24-hour settlements, fewer intermediaries, and increased traceability. This model could inspire other jurisdictions seeking to digitise their public financial instruments.
A key structural challenge remains: preventing innovation from creating closed, non-communicating systems, while promoting an open, standardised infrastructure.
Key points to remember
- MAS has launched a trial of tokenised treasury bills settled using a CBDC.
- The project aims to establish open standards for tokenised assets.
- Three types of assets are being studied: CBDC, regulated stablecoins, and tokenised bank liabilities.
- Singapore is positioning itself as a global laboratory for public digital finance.
