Italy's Top Banks Participate in €25M Digital Bond Issuance on Polygon in ECB Trial
Italy's state-owned development bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP) and Intesa Sanpaolo, the country's largest lender, have completed a digital bond issuance using blockchain technology. The €25 million bond with a four-month maturity was issued by CDP on the Ethereum-based Polygon network, with Intesa Sanpaolo as the underwriter and sole investor. The transaction was the first digital bond issuance under Italy's new "FinTech" decree-law, which governs the issuance and circulation of digital versions of certain financial instruments. The issuance was part of the European Central Bank's initiative to trial ways for wholesale fiat money settlement on blockchains. Global banks and asset managers are increasingly exploring ways to put traditional financial instruments on blockchains, also known as tokenization of real-world assets, to achieve operational benefits such as faster and more transparent transaction settlements, lower costs and greater efficiency.
