The World Bank is expected to settle its first blockchain-based bond worth $73 million this month.
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank (CommBank), which was selected as the sole arranger of the issuance by the World Bank early in August, said the bond is to be transacted on Aug. 28, as reported by Reuters on Thursday.
Engineered to bring a 2.2 percent return, the two-year bond – dubbed “Bondi” – is the first exploration by the World Bank into using blockchain as the supporting technology for automating the issuance process among multiple parties.
As CoinDesk has reported, the platform to be used for the issuance was developed by CommBank’s in-house blockchain lab and will use a distributed network to hopefully improve efficiency for bond transactions between sellers, buyers and banks.
CommBank further claimed in today’s report that the issuance will be the world’s first to use blockchain to raise money from public investors, in contrast to similar ongoing projects that are tested in private markets.
The deal will be made as part of the $50–$60 billion in bond sales every year issued by the World Bank in a bid to combat poverty and improve sustainability for worldwide markets.
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