European Investment Bank Issues $121M Digital Notes Using Ethereum

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28 April 2021

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, used Ethereum technology to issue €100 million ($121 million) in two-year digital notes for the first time, the EIB said in a statement.

  • Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander SA and Societe Generale AG served as joint managers for the notes, issued on April 28.
  • The EIB said the transaction is a series of bond tokens on a blockchain, where investors purchase and pay for the security tokens using traditional fiat.
  • The notes have a zero percent coupon and will be registered on the blockchain, according to a Bloomberg report.
  • The number of banks joining the club for state-backed blockchain bond issuance has been expanding. In September, according to reports, the Bank of Thailand launched a blockchain-enabled platform for the issuance of government saving bonds.
  • In November, the China Construction Bank (CCB) tapped Labuan-based digital asset exchange Fusang for the issuance of $3 billion worth of debt securities over a blockchain.

Read more: Germany’s Central Bank Tests Blockchain Solution to Counter CBDCs

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