Siemens Issues €300 Million Digital Bond Using Blockchain Technology
Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...
German technology conglomerate Siemens has issued its second digital bond, valued at €300 million, utilizing the SWIAT permissioned blockchain.
The one-year bond saw settlement completed in just minutes, using Germany’s Trigger solution, which automates central bank payments through the TARGET 2 system.
This rapid settlement stands in stark contrast to Siemens’ previous €60 million bond issued on the Polygon blockchain, which required a two-day settlement, the company said in a recent press release.
The issuance is part of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) trials on wholesale Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) settlement.
“By issuing another digital bond, we are demonstrating once again our spirit of innovation and underscoring our aim to continuously drive digital solutions for the financial markets,” Ralf P. Thomas, chief financial officer of Siemens, said.
Classified as a crypto security under Germany’s Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), the bond marks the largest eWpG bond issued to date.
By June 2024, the total eWpG digital securities issuances were estimated at €236 million, a figure that has grown thanks to the ECB’s trials. Since then, government-owned bank KfW has issued €150 million across two digital bond offerings.
While often described as bearer bonds, eWpG digital bonds still require a registrar to track asset holders.
In this case, DekaBank, one of the investors, serves as the bond registrar.
Other key investors included BayernLB, DZ BANK, Helaba, and LBBW, with Deutsche Bank handling settlement using the Bundesbank
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