2024-07-21
On July 18, 2024, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (CDP),
an Italian state-owned bank and Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the largest banking
groups in Italy, issued its first digital bond worth €25 million ($27.22
million) on Polygon, an Ethereum layer-2 network.
The issuance utilized distributed
ledger technology (DLT) and is notable for being the first of its kind in Italy
following the “FinTech” decree-law. This law allows for the issuance and
circulation of certain financial instruments in digital form.
It is part of a broader European
Central Bank (ECB) trial to explore blockchain solutions for central bank money
settlements.
The bond, with a four-month maturity
and a fixed coupon at maturity of 3.633%, was issued by CDP with Intesa
Sanpaolo as the underwriter and sole investor.
The cash flow was settled in euros on
the same day using the Bank of Italy’s “TIPS Hash Link” tool, which allows
interoperability between blockchains and traditional payment systems.
This innovative step demonstrates the
growing interest and application of blockchain technology in traditional
financial markets.
