bonds

The Asian bond market is expected to follow the decline of U.S. Treasuries, as the U.S.-Iran standoff keeps oil prices high, exacerbating inflation concerns and increasing market bets on further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.New Zealand government bonds opened lower, and Australian government bond futures may decline. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield briefly rose by 11 basis points to 5.27%, reaching a new high in 19 years; the 30-year yield rose to 5.55%. Morgan Stanley analyst Chris Larkin stated that the market's focus may still be on interest rates and energy prices.

According to informed sources, the Trump administration is considering launching an overseas stablecoin program, which may take the form of a joint venture with private enterprises. The Department of the Treasury, the State Department, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) may all participate to expand the use of the U.S. dollar and support demand for U.S. Treasury bonds.Tether's latest reserve report shows that as of June 30, it directly holds $11.496 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, with total reserve assets of $18.775 billion, exceeding liabilities by $4.11 billion. The plan has not yet established a partnership with Tether and has not yet become an officially operational project.

According to informed sources, the Hong Kong government plans to raise HKD 15 billion to 20 billion (USD 1.9 billion to 2.6 billion) by issuing multi-currency digital green bonds, which will be the largest transaction of its kind globally.The sources said that these bonds will be denominated in US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, euros, and offshore renminbi, with pricing potentially as early as next Monday. Due to the involvement of undisclosed information, the sources requested anonymity. The Hong Kong government has commissioned several banks to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings this week.

U.S. Treasury bonds continued to decline after the strong S&P Global U.S. PMI indicator was released.

Bitcoin Magazine released a video interview where Jim Bianco, founder of Bianco Research, stated that the bond market signaled over two years ago before the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in more than three years. He pointed out that during the previous rate-cutting cycle of the Federal Reserve, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose from 3.7% to 5%, marking the first time in over 50 years that the long-end yield increased while the Federal Reserve was cutting rates.In his discussion with Grace Remington and Sean Hagan, Bianco also mentioned that the Federal Reserve's decision on October 28 (one week before the midterm elections) is more significant than Wall Street expects. He refuted the "devaluation trade" narrative and discussed what Bitcoin needs to demonstrate, including development activity and the DeFi summer. He believes that the construction of Bitcoin ETFs has missed the point and stated that Tether has effectively become a circulating currency in Venezuela and Afghanistan.Additionally, Bianco talked about stablecoins and the GENIUS Act, real demand for government bonds, and the post-pandemic economy, while criticizing Federal Reserve Chairman Powell. He noted the existence of multiple wars and "safe haven" logic and referenced the "Fourth Turning" theory to analyze the current macro cycle.

Bitcoin News posted on the X platform that Bloomberg senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone stated that U.S. Treasury bonds with a 5% yield now have the value to sell Bitcoin for allocation.

Korean Air Bank issued a 100 million USD foreign currency digital bond with a term of 5 years, directly utilizing the digital financial market infrastructure of Euroclear. This is the first digital bond in Korea issued directly using Euroclear's blockchain infrastructure.The issuance, registration, and settlement of the bond are all processed on a distributed ledger network, shortening the bond allocation and payment settlement from 3 to 5 working days to the same day. Investors can trade the bond through the Euroclear global settlement network using their existing accounts and trading systems.

According to BBX data, last weekend, global publicly listed treasury and mining companies in the U.S. announced their latest accounts regarding digital asset allocation, note financing, and liquidity management. The core updates are as follows:Evernorth Holdings plans to issue $30 million in convertible senior notes, specifically for increasing its holdings in XRP and ecological expansion: The treasury company Evernorth Holdings submitted an 8-K filing to the U.S. SEC, disclosing that it has signed a subscription agreement with a trust under South Korea's NH Investment & Securities, planning to issue convertible senior payment-in-kind (PIK) notes with a scale of $30 million, an annual interest rate of 4%, and maturing in 2031. The formal effectiveness of the notes is contingent upon the completion of the business merger transaction between Evernorth and the SPAC company Armada Acquisition Corp. II (expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026). The proceeds will be fully used to purchase XRP in the secondary market and participate in XRP-related ecological businesses. Noteholders can convert the notes into the company's Class A common stock one year after the effective date, with an initial conversion price of approximately $10.20 per share.Bitdeer (NASDAQ: $BTDR) disclosed weekly mining data, producing 287.2 BTC fully liquidated: The Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer announced its latest Bitcoin holdings data. As of the week of September 18, its self-operated Bitcoin mining output was 287.2 BTC, and it sold 287.2 BTC in the open market during the same period, resulting in a net addition of 0 BTC for the week. The balance sheet continues to implement a liquidity strategy of immediate sale upon production, maintaining zero Bitcoin retention.

SoftBank Group issued $10 billion and $1 billion European bonds for investment in OpenAI.

According to Ledger Insights, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) for interbank settlement by the end of this year, as part of Project EnsembleTX, for 24-hour settlement of tokenized deposit transactions.The project is set to enter the real transaction pilot phase by the end of 2025, but currently, interbank settlements still rely on the RTGS system that operates only during working hours. The wCBDC will be used to address this limitation. In addition, the wCBDC is also planned to be used for the settlement of over-the-counter derivatives trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), with the goal of implementing related real fund transactions within this year.

Carolyn Wilkins, a member of the Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee, stated that the growth of dollar stablecoins may reinforce the global dominance of the dollar and increase the demand for U.S. Treasury bonds. She pointed out during a speech at Queen's University Belfast that dollar stablecoins can facilitate cross-border settlements and expand access to dollar-denominated assets outside the United States.Stablecoin issuer Tether's USDT and fintech company Circle's USDC held nearly $150 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds by the end of 2025, purchasing about $33 billion that year. Wilkins noted that large-scale stablecoin redemptions could force issuers to sell Treasury bonds, thereby amplifying volatility in pressured markets. Currently, the total circulation of stablecoins has exceeded $300 billion, with 98% of their value pegged to the dollar. Wilkins stated that this gives the dollar a significant first-mover advantage, and the development of the stablecoin market has implications beyond the cryptocurrency sector.The development of pound stablecoins is relatively slow. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has tested potential issuers through a dedicated regulatory sandbox and finalized the UK's stablecoin issuance rules in June; the Bank of England has also tested the feasibility of using stablecoins alongside a simulated digital pound for cross-border trade payments.

As oil prices rise, inflation concerns have emerged, leading to a significant increase in U.S. Treasury yields. Citigroup stated that for investors who can withstand volatility, the 20-year Treasury bond offers a good risk-reward ratio.Citigroup strategist Jason Williams pointed out that if yields break above 5.3%, bearish options on U.S. Treasuries will strengthen, and policymakers may take action to curb the rise in yields.

According to a report by Reuters, artificial intelligence company Zhipu has launched a Hong Kong stock placement of approximately 2 billion USD and a convertible bond issuance of about 3 billion USD, totaling a financing scale of around 5 billion USD. Zhipu will issue 21.97 million new shares at a placement price of 714 HKD per share, which is about a 10% discount compared to the closing price of 793 HKD; at the same time, it will issue 20.14 billion RMB (approximately 3 billion USD) zero-coupon convertible bonds, maturing in September 2027. The issuance price of the convertible bonds is 100% to 100.5% of face value, corresponding to a yield of -0.5% to 0%, with an initial conversion price of 892.5 HKD, which is a 25% premium over the placement price.The proceeds from the financing will mainly be used for research and development, computing power resources, and related infrastructure, as well as for business expansion, strategic investments, potential mergers and acquisitions, working capital, and other corporate purposes. This stock placement and convertible bond issuance will occur simultaneously, but the settlement of the two transactions is not interdependent.

According to Token Terminal data, the tokenized U.S. Treasury product USYC (under Circle) has increased its market value by 2 billion dollars in the past year, ranking first among similar assets; iBENJI and USDY follow closely, with increases of 1.7 billion dollars and 1.5 billion dollars, respectively. BlackRock's BUIDL grew by 552.5 million dollars during the same period, ranking fifth.

Eurozone government bond prices fell on Friday, with the global bond market expected to record its worst weekly performance since the outbreak of the Iran war, as soaring energy prices forced central banks worldwide to take swift action against inflation. The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points and adjusted its inflation and growth forecasts. The yield on Germany's two-year government bonds rose to 3.208%, the highest since October 2023.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched the Demat 2 pilot this week, issuing corporate bonds in the form of digital tokens on a distributed ledger operated by regulated market institutions, and settling through the wholesale digital rupee of the Reserve Bank of India. The size of India's corporate bond market is approximately $620 billion.The state-owned power financing institution REC raised ₹50 billion (approximately $56 million) through this system, engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro refinanced ₹50 billion, and non-banking financial institution IIFL Finance raised ₹2.5 billion (approximately $2.8 million), totaling around ₹102.5 billion. The bonds retain fixed interest rates, maturity dates, and investor rights, but the tokenized bonds can be settled simultaneously with the digital rupees used for purchase, thereby reducing transaction risk.Subsequent phases will introduce smart contracts to handle corporate actions such as interest payments and redemptions, and there are plans to open secondary market trading, ultimately allowing retail investors to participate. India maintains a cautious attitude towards private cryptocurrencies, and this pilot is an attempt to introduce tokenization into its controlled financial system.

According to Gate market data, the yield on Germany's 10-year government bonds rose by 6 basis points to 3.51%, the highest level since 2009.

According to Bloomberg, Dell Technologies is seeking to raise approximately $4 billion through the issuance of investment-grade bonds for refinancing existing debt. Insiders say the final issuance size has not yet been determined and will be adjusted based on market demand.This bond issuance comes at a time when demand for AI-driven servers continues to grow, and Dell is benefiting from the surge in investment in AI infrastructure, boosting its performance.

The law firm Harneys and the tokenization platform droppRWA plan to issue the first catastrophe bond that directly records ownership on the blockchain, with the first trading target set for early 2027. This structure will make the blockchain a legally enforceable record of ownership, with investor registration, qualification review, and payment processes all placed within the same system, reducing reconciliation time from several days to seconds, provided that the necessary regulatory approvals are obtained.The catastrophe bond market is a $65.6 billion market that allows insurance companies, reinsurance companies, and government agencies to transfer natural disaster exposure to capital market investors. The tokenized asset market has nearly tripled in the past year to over $33 billion, and Citigroup expects this sector to reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. The second quarter of 2026 is projected to be the largest quarter in catastrophe bond issuance history, with 48 transactions issuing a total of $11.3 billion, and the Bermuda Stock Exchange accounted for 93% of global catastrophe bond issuance in 2025.To lower the investment threshold, investors will not directly purchase catastrophe bond notes, which typically have a minimum denomination of $250,000, but instead purchase beneficial interests in vehicles that hold the bonds and pass through the returns, with the minimum investment amount expected to drop to $5,000. The project is still subject to applicable regulatory requirements and approvals, and any platform administrator role must be licensed under Bermuda's Digital Asset Business Act 2018.

MediaTek announced on the 31st that it has completed the pricing of $3.9 billion (nearly NT$125 billion) in overseas convertible bonds, bringing in funds from two AI giants, Nvidia and Google's parent company Alphabet. Nvidia accounted for $3.5 billion (about NT$110 billion), approximately 90% of the total amount, and announced that the two companies will deepen their cooperation in the future. This is the largest overseas convertible bond issuance in the history of Taiwan's capital market and also Nvidia's first investment in a Taiwanese company.According to a joint statement from Nvidia and MediaTek, Nvidia will purchase MediaTek's overseas convertible bonds. This investment expands the cooperation between the two parties, and MediaTek will use Nvidia's NVLink Fusion and Nvidia's recently released NVHBM technology to facilitate smoother communication of components in data centers. Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang stated that the cooperation with MediaTek has "expanded significantly," making it one of the top partnerships; MediaTek's processors will become the foundation for the next generation of Windows PCs. MediaTek stated that this overseas fundraising attracted enthusiastic participation and subscriptions from long-term important partners such as Nvidia and Alphabet, as well as renowned international investors.