BNP Paribas launches Slovenia’s 1st sovereign bond on Canton blockchain

Slovenia made history by issuing the Eurozone’s first sovereign digital bond using the Canton blockchain platform for on-chain payments.

Slovenia has issued the eurozone’s first sovereign digital bond in an on-chain transaction facilitated by French banking giant BNP Paribas and using Banque de France’s tokenized cash solution.

In a press release on Friday, BNP Paribas said the issuance is part of the European Central Bank’s wholesale central bank money payment experimental program. The digital bond from Slovenia was issued using BNP Paribas’ Neobonds platform, which runs on the Canton blockchain.

“BNP Paribas is committed to contributing to Eurosystem-led wholesale digital settlement solutions that will make bond settlement more efficient and secure,” Frederic Zorzi, head of global primary markets at BNP Paribas CIB, said in a press release.

BNP Paribas says Neobonds record the legal ownership of digital bonds and allow network participants to manage the operational framework for issuing and trading bonds on secondary markets. The €30 million bond has a 3.65% coupon and matures on November 25.

Canton was launched in 2021 by fintech firm Digital Asset with the aim of creating a privacy-enabled, interoperable blockchain network designed to provide a decentralized infrastructure for institutional clients. Beyond BNP Paribas, the list of network participants also includes Deloitte, Cboe Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and Microsoft.