The World Bank has priced the world’s first public bond created and managed using only blockchain in a $100 million ($73.16 million) deal designed to test how the technology might improve decades-old bond sales practices.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is the sole arranger of the prototype deal, dubbed a “Bondi” bond which stands for Blockchain Operated New Debt Instrument, as well as a reference to the famous Australian beach. It is hoped that this will serve as an initial step in moving bond sales away from manual processes towards faster and cheaper automation.
The World Bank is an international financial institution which issues between US$50-US$60 billion annually in bonds for sustainable development. It has drawn considerable criticism in the development community, particular for its governance structures and loan conditionalities.
