Two Bermuda firms plan to issue the first catastrophe bonds with ownership directly tied to blockchain, according to a new report from financial media outlet CoinDesk.

The first deal is targeted for early 2027.

Catastrophe bonds are specialised insurance-linked securities that transfer risks such as hurricanes and earthquakes to investors. If a specified catastrophe occurs and the bond’s trigger conditions are met, some or all of the investors’ principal is used to compensate the insurer or other sponsor.

CoinDesk named law firm Harneys and a new Bermudian-based firm droppRWA that is helping Saudi Arabia tokenise its economy.

“From the first sovereign-native tokenised property deed transfer to the infrastructure now shaping compliant digital markets, droppRWA is turning real-world asset tokenisation into market reality,” the firm states on its website.

It adds that most tokenisation companies wrap existing assets with a digital layer, adding a token on top of markets that already exist, without changing the underlying structure.

“DroppRWA builds the legal and technical market infrastructure itself – the registries, settlement rails and compliance frameworks that make assets natively digital and investable,” the company said.

The proposed structure from these two firms would give investors legal ownership of catastrophe bonds on chain and could lower the minimum investment.

“With tokenisation of traditional assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate a growing industry, there are still some product areas it has yet to touch,” CoinDesk stated. “Among them are catastrophe bonds.”

Henry Tucker, partner and global head of trusts and private wealth at Harneys, told CoinDesk that under the structure the firms have developed in Bermuda, the investor would hold legal title to the bond.

Faisal Monai, chief executive and cofounder of droppRWA, told CoinDesk this is important because the investor register, eligibility checks and payment process would sit on the same legally enforceable system, rather than alongside an off-chain ownership record.

The system could reduce reconciliation from days to seconds, provided it receives the necessary regulatory approvals.

CoinDesk said financial firms are already moving beyond tokenising conventional assets and starting to test blockchain systems for issuance, ownership and settlement.

In the article another firm, RWA.xyz, based in New York, said the market for tokenised assets has nearly tripled over the past year to more than $33 billion with Citi estimating the sector could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.