Law firm Harneys and platform droppRWA have announced plans to issue catastrophe bonds with ownership rights recorded on the blockchain. Representatives from both companies shared this in an interview with CoinDesk.
Catastrophe bonds are used by insurance companies and government agencies to transfer some of the risk of natural disasters to investors. Investors hold the bonds until a specified event, such as a hurricane or earthquake, occurs. The market for these so-called cat bonds is estimated at approximately $65.6 billion.
The partners plan to execute their first transaction with these assets at the beginning of 2027.
Edwin Mata, CEO and co-founder of Brickken, highlighted the key question of whether the blockchain will serve as a legal registry of ownership rather than just a digital representation of the asset. He noted that tokenization does not affect the assessment of catastrophe risk, trigger mechanics, collateral quality, or the bond’s valuation.
Faisal Monai, co-founder of droppRWA, stated that the investor registry, eligibility checks, and payouts can be consolidated into a single legally enforceable system. With the necessary regulatory approvals, data reconciliation could be reduced from days to seconds.
The parties are also discussing lowering the entry threshold. Instead of directly purchasing notes with a typical minimum denomination of $250,000, investors are offered a beneficial interest in a structure that distributes income among multiple holders. In this model, the minimum investment could be reduced to $5,000.
In the second quarter of 2026, the issuance of catastrophe bonds reached $11.3 billion across 48 deals, according to CoinDesk. The Bermuda Stock Exchange accounted for 93% of the global issuance in 2025, hosting cat bonds and insurance-linked securities worth $70.5 billion.
According to RWA.xyz, the market for tokenized assets has nearly tripled over the past year, exceeding $38.5 billion.
In August, the IMF again warned about the risks of tokenization. According to the regulator, the technology could reshape the architecture of the global financial system, but without common standards, it may increase market fragmentation and systemic risks.
