Lately, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies have been in the news for mostly negative reasons. Headlines are screaming about the bear market and price fluctuations, one analyst after another declaring Bitcoin “dead” or “here to stay”.

In the meantime, impassioned and dedicated developers and forward-thinking entrepreneurs are forging ahead, not letting sensational headlines or wild price swings dissuade them from creating the future.

We at FIC Network are among those devoted creators steadily making waves — and progress — in the rapidly evolving blockchain space. For two years now we have been building a platform to issue and trade bonds on the blockchain. The platform is ready to launch and we will issue the first bond on our Mainnet in the fourth quarter of this year.

The timing could not be better, as we have found an additional motivation for ourselves — to issue the first ever BOB (bond on the blockchain) before the World Bank does.

The World Bank, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) announced plans to issue the first ever bond on the blockchain.

We are ecstatic that the World Bank and the CBA believe in the same advantages and opportunities that blockchain can bring the fixed income markets as we do, such as:

Better access to capital for entrepreneurs

A streamlined process for all participants including issuers, broker-dealers, investors, and traders, cutting costs related to bond servicing

Higher standards for transparency and auditability of opaque over-the-counter instruments

Interestingly the World Bank press release did not mention a launch date and it is not clear just how close they are to an issue.

Of course, we like nothing better than a true David and Goliath competition, and love the chance to race the World Bank to be the world’s first issuer of a bond on the blockchain. We’re confident we’ll make it to the finish line first, with an arranger, issuer and investor group already secured and ready to go.

Regardless of who issues the first bond on the blockchain, the World Bank’s participation is a huge positive validation for our vision and we are motivated to work harder than ever before to deliver.

Stay tuned for more updates from us, including the advantages in more detail our blockchain has over Ethereum, which is the blockchain protocol that the World Bank announced they will use.