Major European clearinghouse Euroclear unveiled Tuesday its tokenized securities issuance service with the World Bank’s 100 million euros ($106 million) digital bond issuance, according to a press release.
Euroclear’s Digital Securities Issuance (D-SI) business will assist in issuing, distributing and settling fully digital financial assets on distributed ledgers – a database held and updated independently by each participant (or node) in a large network.
World Bank Group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will use the bond for financing sustainable development activities and is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Citi was the issuer agent and investment manager, while TD Securities acted as the dealer. The bond was issued on the Corda blockchain, the platform’s developer firm R3 said.
“Today’s launch marks an important moment for our clients and for the potential of digital assets, Lieve Mostrey, CEO of Euroclear, said in the press release. “We strive to deliver technology solutions that empower investors, foster market transparency and support the growth and stability of all market participants.”
The issuance highlights the increasing convergence of traditional financial (TradFi) services and digital assets as major TradFi institutions are placing real-world assets (RWA) on blockchain-based rails. This process – usually called tokenization of RWAs – could increase efficiency, lower operational costs, and improve accessibility and transparency.
The market for these so-called tokenized assets could mushroom to between $3.5 trillion to $10 trillion by the end of the decade, digital asset investment firm 21.co forecasted in a report.
“A transition to digitisation is underway in the capital markets,” Anshula Kant, World Bank’s managing director and chief financial officer, said in the statement.
