The 100 million euro, two-year bond was issued, recorded and settled using private blockchain based technology, and represents the inaugural issuance on Goldman Sachs’ tokenisation platform.
On Nov. 29, the European Investment Bank, or EIB, issued a first-ever $100 million digital bond denominated in euros on a platform supported by a private blockchain, with assistance from Goldman Sachs for tokenization. Both of them serve as the financial instrument’s on-chain custodians, along with Société Générale Luxembourg.
The bond has a maturity date of November 29, 2024, a coupon rate of 2.57% annually, and is governed by Luxembourgese law. The project to provide a digital representation of euro central bank money included participation from the Banque de France and the Banque Centrale du Luxembourg.
The EIB says that “the transaction paves the way for future on-chain derivative solutions, by using the first interest rate swap hedge represented through the industry-developed common domain model.”
In addition, the bond represents the “first cross-chain Delivery vs. Payment (DVP) settlement using an experimental CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency] token.”
The EIB issued the first digital euro bond on a public blockchain successfully in April of last year. The two-year €100 million digital bond was sold under the leadership of Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander, and Société Générale. Vice President of the EIB Ricardo Mourinho Félix made the following remarks about today’s innovative digital bond issuance on a private blockchain:
“Blockchain has the potential to disrupt a wide range of sectors. It plays a central role in the success of Europe’s green and digital transitions, and strengthens our technological sovereignty. Innovation is part of the EIB’s identity and issuing this fully digital bond is another important step in helping to develop a fully digital ecosystem.”
