DRW and Marex complete a swap tied to a tokenized iBoxx benchmark

DRW and Marex have completed an over-the-counter total return swap referencing a tokenized S&P iBoxx benchmark, according to an October 13 announcement from S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kaiko. The trade was executed on Derivnex using the Canton Network.

The original announcement identifies the reference as the S&P iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index. Kaiko provided the tokenized benchmark, including signed official index values used for valuation.

The companies described the transaction as the first OTC derivative using a fully tokenized index and infrastructure. That first-of-its-kind description is their claim; the completed DRW–Marex trade is the specific transaction identified in the release.

The design combines the trade terms with a shared, synchronized record for the counterparties. Smart contracts represent those terms, while the infrastructure handles lifecycle events and valuation. The release also describes use of the Common Domain Model to give those events a standard digital representation.

Benchmark licensing remains part of the arrangement. The tokenized data carries access permissions and usage rules, which the companies say preserve the index provider’s intellectual property and licensing requirements. Putting the benchmark into the transaction infrastructure does not make the underlying data freely available.

Jason Shubnell’s October 13 report for The Block independently reports the completed swap, its counterparties and its iBoxx reference. It describes the project as an application of tokenized data and shared records to derivatives trading.

Some parts of the broader workflow remain future work. The companies say functionality will expand to digital cash and collateral, including margin and contractual payments on Canton. The announcement does not establish that those cash and collateral movements were part of this completed swap.

Sources

S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kaiko: DRW–Marex tokenized benchmark swap · DRW and Marex execute iBoxx-linked swap