Overview of Eurozone’s First Sovereign Digital Bond Issuance
Slovenia has created history by issuing the Eurozone’s inaugural sovereign digital bond on the Canton blockchain platform for on-chain settlement. This groundbreaking transaction was facilitated by BNP Paribas, a prominent French banking institution, and leveraged the Banque de France’s tokenized cash solution.
BNP Paribas’s Role in the Digital Bond Issuance
According to a press release by BNP Paribas, the issuance of Slovenia’s digital bond is part of the European Central Bank’s wholesale central bank money settlement experimentation program. BNP Paribas’s Neobonds platform, operating on the Canton blockchain, facilitated the issuance process, showcasing the commitment to enhancing bond settlement efficiency and security.
Features of the Digital Bond and Participants Involved
BNP Paribas’s Neobonds platform recorded the legal ownership of the digital bonds, enabling network participants to manage the operational framework for issuing and trading bonds on secondary markets. With a nominal value of €30 million, the bond offers a 3.65% coupon and matures on Nov. 25. The Canton blockchain, launched in 2021 by Digital Asset, provides a privacy-enabled interoperable network for institutional clients, with participants like Deloitte, Cboe Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and Microsoft.
