The World Bank has launched the first bond on a blockchain with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
The A$110 million ($87 million) bond-i (blockchain operated new debt instrument) — so named, I’m assuming, because of Australia’s famed Bondi Beach (bankers have the funnies!) — is the first bond to be created, allocated, transferred and managed using distributed ledger technology.
The investment is one small step for Australian finance and one giant leap for blockchains in the world (or not).
Investors in the blockchain bond include CBA, First State Super, NSW Treasury Corporation, Northern Trust, QBE, SAFA and Treasury Corporation of Victoria. It’s a smorgasbord of Australian state financial institutions and makes a ton of sense, because the Australian fintech community is one that’s strong, and blockchain is something that these institutions are definitely interested in exploring.
According to a statement from the World Bank, this will be one of many experiments that the global financial organization will make into blockchain research. Last June, the World Bank launched a Blockchain Innovation Lab to play around with the technology.
“We are particularly impressed with the breath [sic] of interest from official institutions, fund managers, government institutions and banks. We were no doubt successful in moving from concept to reality because these high-quality investors understood the value of leveraging technology for innovation in capital markets,” said World Bank Treasurer Arunma Oteh.
Source: TechCrunch
