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Bank Negara Malaysia launched SSDS+ on October 20, 2026, a distributed ledger-based depository system for issuing, holding and safekeeping tokenized debt securities, including Islamic bonds known as sukuk, according to Cointelegraph. The new platform records ownership and transfers of tokenized securities and connects to the RENTAS+ settlement system, which handles the corresponding bond payments in central bank money.
BNM said the linkage allows securities records and payments to run continuously rather than within fixed banking windows. Crypto.news reported that the central bank built SSDS+ internally using cloud and distributed ledger technology, and that the announcement came on October 20.
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Key facts
- Bank Negara Malaysia announced SSDS+ on October 20, 2026, built on its existing Scripless Securities Depository System for the wholesale market.
- SSDS+ records ownership and transfers of tokenized securities while RENTAS+ settles the matching payments in central bank money.
- According to Crypto.news, RENTAS+ launched in October 2025 and was described by the central bank as the first real-time gross settlement system in ASEAN with continuous 24-hour operations.
- The platform is designed primarily for wholesale issuance but BNM said it is ready to support tokenized government bonds and corporate retail bonds.
- The central bank did not identify a first issuer, disclose transaction volumes, or give a date for tokenized retail bonds becoming available.
How the system works
Under the new arrangement, SSDS+ maintains the digital record of who owns a security and when it changes hands. RENTAS+ handles the cash leg, paying for bond purchases in central bank money rather than through private stablecoins or other digital payment tokens. Crypto.news reported that the split keeps securities recordkeeping and payment processing in two connected systems with distinct roles.
BNM Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour described the launch as an important development for the country’s financial infrastructure. According to Crypto.news, he said the two systems together give Malaysia a secure, faster and more flexible foundation for new securities and payment use cases.
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The payment leg rests on infrastructure BNM already upgraded. RENTAS+ introduced continuous settlement throughout the year and, Crypto.news reported, came with an automatic liquidity facility letting participating institutions access funds through repurchase agreements and sell-and-buy-back arrangements for transactions outside normal business hours.
Earlier tokenization work
Crypto.news reported that the securities commission confirmed on April 28 that sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional had priced the country’s first tokenized sukuk pilot at RM100 million. BNM’s October announcement did not state that the Khazanah issuance used SSDS+, so the two developments concern separate parts of Malaysia’s tokenization programme.
The rollout also follows BNM’s three-year asset tokenization roadmap, which Cointelegraph reported was unveiled in November 2025 and covered pilots in Islamic finance, supply chain financing and programmable payments. Cointelegraph reported that in February the central bank tested ringgit stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits through its Digital Asset Innovation Hub, with participation from Standard Chartered, CIMB Group Holding, Maybank and Capital A. Crypto.news reported that a September review of Malaysia’s digital asset market listed AmBank, Hong Leong Bank and RHB Investment Bank among members of BNM’s tokenization working group.
Why it matters
Settlement in central bank money keeps the tokenized bond market inside the monetary system rather than dependent on privately issued tokens, a distinction regulators elsewhere have weighed when designing digital securities venues. For issuers, digital records may simplify transfers and give more room to design instrument terms. For banks, round-the-clock settlement removes the constraint of fixed daily windows when a trade closes after hours.
Malaysia is positioning the platform as wholesale-first, with government and retail corporate bonds as later options. That sequencing matters because retail distribution would bring consumer-protection and disclosure questions that a wholesale depository does not face.
What to watch
Three disclosures are still open: the identity of the first issuer on SSDS+, transaction volumes, and a timeline for tokenized retail bonds. Crypto.news also reported that BNM has said its stablecoin and tokenized-deposit experiments will inform policy decisions, with further regulatory clarity expected by the end of 2026.
Reported by cointelegraph.com.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Crypto.news