Emirates NBD Shatters Records with $272M Digital Bond - Largest MENA Issuance Yet

Emirates NBD just dropped a blockchain-powered bomb on regional finance.

The Dubai banking giant bypassed traditional settlement systems to issue a $272 million digital bond—instantly making it the largest of its kind across the entire Middle East and North Africa.

Why This Isn't Just Another Press Release

Forget the usual corporate jargon about 'innovation.' This move cuts straight to the core of institutional adoption. We're talking real capital, from a major regulated bank, moving onto a digital ledger. It's a silent nod to the infrastructure that crypto has been building for over a decade.

The Numbers Don't Lie

The figure—$272 million—speaks louder than any tech whitepaper. It's a liquidity test passed with flying colors. It proves the market appetite isn't just speculative retail money; it's deep, institutional-grade demand looking for efficiency that legacy systems simply can't match.

One cynical finance jab? It's almost funny watching traditional banks finally embrace the tech they spent years dismissing, all while trying to claim they invented it. Welcome to the party—the infrastructure's been ready.

This isn't a pilot program or a proof-of-concept. It's a landmark. It signals to every other major player in the region that the digital asset train has left the station, and it's carrying serious freight. The race to tokenize real-world assets just found its pace car.

The Emirates NBD digital bond attracted a diverse investor base

As per the press release, the bond attracted a diverse investor base. Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq, and Standard Chartered acted as Joint Lead Managers, while Emirates NBD Capital and Standard Chartered acted as the Joint Digitally Native Note Structurers. Citi acted as the Issuing and Paying Agent. 

Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking, Emirates NBD, explained that the digital bond issuance is a landmark event not only for Emirates NBD but also for the region’s debt markets.

He added, “The UAE continues to set new benchmarks for digital assets and distributed ledger technology throughout the Middle East. We are confident that the transaction will enhance operational efficiency, speed up settlement cycles, and strengthen transparency and security for investors.” He also noted that this WOULD build a more resilient digital capital markets ecosystem in the UAE and the region.

The CEO of Nasdaq Dubai, Hamed Ali, stated that listing an AED-denominated, digitally native bond on Nasdaq Dubai demonstrated the maturity of the digital debt market in a regulated, internationally aligned exchange environment.

Additionally, Bernard Ferran, Chief Commercial Officer, Euroclear Group, believes that this transaction will deliver real value for clients.  He explains that clients can now harness innovation without sacrificing reliability, benefiting from faster execution while maintaining seamless investor access, deep liquidity, and alignment with established market standards. 

Qatar National Bank becomes first to issue blockchain-enabled digital bond

In November 2025, Qatar National Bank (QNB) launched its first-ever native blockchain-enabled digital bond issuance, raising $500 million in what is being described as the largest transaction of its kind by a financial institution in the Middle East and Africa.

The digital bond issuance was powered by the HSBC Orion Blockchain solution. This step came as part of QNB’s strategy to tap new sources of stable funding from new markets with digitally innovative funding sources. HSBC acted as the sole bookrunner on the transaction, in what it called a further step in its ambition to bring end-to-end blockchain-based solutions to its global client base.

Before that, QNB Group, Standard Chartered, and DMZ Finance, an RWA tokenization infrastructure provider, launched the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) first regulated tokenized money market fund, the QCD Money Market Fund (units in QCDT).

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.