Bank of China tokenises securities on Ethereum worth $28 million

BOCI, the Bank of China’s Hong Kong-based investment bank, carried out on Ethereum tokenisation of a debt-security note with a maturity of one to ten years, issued for 200 million yuan ($28 million). UBS was a partner.

“This is the first product of its kind in the APAC region, created in accordance with Hong Kong and Swiss law […] and introducing regulated securities into a public blockchain,” the press release said.

In December 2022, UBS carried out a similar initiative for $50 million on a permissioned blockchain, in accordance with English and Swiss law.

UBS will continue to expand tokenisation services, covering structured products, fixed-income instruments and REPO deals.

Earlier in July 2022, the Hong Kong-based regulated Bitcoin exchange OSLconducted a USD-denominated bond placement on the Ethereum blockchain.

The company said at the time that the initiative would pave the way for the distribution of tokenised securities among licensed financial intermediaries in Hong Kong.

Moody’s said there is a possibility of cost savings and greater transparency in the use of funds by municipalities when issuing bonds via blockchain.

According to Citi analysts, by 2030 the market capitalization of security tokens will reach $4 trillion.