Altcoin News: World Bank and CBA Issued Blockchain Bonds

May 16, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

The World Bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) tested the blockchain in the account trading in bonds on the secondary market.

According to the project participants, the issue of debt using a blockchain called bond-i showed huge potential of technology.

To launch bond-i, the World Bank entered into a partnership with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in August 2018, choosing it as the sole organizer of the initiative. The experiment allowed the World Bank to attract $81 million.

“Enabling secondary trading recorded on the blockchain is a tremendous step forward towards enabling capital markets to leverage distributed ledger technologies for faster, more efficient, and more secure transactions,” said World Bank Vice President and Treasurer Jingdong Hua. “It speaks to the innovation and commitment of all our partners, including investors, that we were able to achieve this together.”

The bond issue platform was built and developed by the CommBank Advanced Technologies Center based on the Ethereum blockchain. Microsoft has tested its architecture, security, and resiliency.

“Blockchain has the potential to streamline processes for raising capital and trading securities, improve operational efficiencies, and enhance regulatory oversight,” Sophie Gilder, Head of Experimentation & Commercialisation, CBA Innovation Labs, described the project.

Spanish Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) is already using blockchain to issue bonds. The French financial services giant Societe Generale issued bonds worth $112 million on the Ethereum blockchain.

Author: Marko Vidrih