BME, the Spanish stock exchange operator, has collaborated with Iberclear, BBVA and the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), to complete the first bond issuance in Spain listed in a regulated market and registered using blockchain technology developed by ioBuilders. This platform could serve as a model for future issuances in Spain and in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The deployment of a blockchain platform allows the registration, trading in the secondary market and life cycle management of a bond issued in a regulated market. Smart contracts have been used for the execution of the distribution, purchase and sale, settlement and corporate events processes, using electronic money tokenised by BBVA for the management of cash throughout the term of the issuance. In addition to its role as tokeniser of digital money, BBVA has taken on several critical functions, acting as digital custodian, digital structurer and active bookrunner for the transaction. Citi has acted as agent. Iberdrola and Renta 4 participated as investors in the bond.
The first issuance of a blockchain-based bond is part of the strategy of the SIX group, which owns BME, to shape future market infrastructures. This project reaffirms BME’s commitment to developing new blockchain-based solutions designed for investors, which streamline processes and maintain the same control, transparency and security standards as regulated financial markets.