Bank of China Issues $2.8B in Blockchain-Based Bonds
- The bonds are issued with the goal of stimulating small and micro-sized businesses in the industry.
- The Bank of China also stated that it had lent 404 billion Yuan to more than 410,000 small and medium-sized enterprises by this September.
A Bank of China building. CoinDesk
One of the four major commercial banks in China, Bank of China, announced in a statement on Friday that it has released 20 billion Yuan in blockchain-based bonds for small businesses that own blockchain platforms.
The Beijing-based bank also mentioned in the statement that it concluded pricing and bond issuance for the first period this week. The two-year bond will come with a 3.25% coupon rate and is aimed at raising funds to support small and micro-sized businesses.
The state-owned bank used its own blockchain network to give out digital certificates of ownership, create underwriter groups and record proof of transactions.
China seeks to prop up its entrepreneurs by providing efficient access to capital through bond issuance. The bank said that it had lent 404 billion Yuan to more than 410,000 small and micro-sized enterprises by the month of September.
The top use of blockchain for Chinese banks and financial services firms is financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs. Two examples follow.
In February 2018, ICBC, a Chinese multinational bank, started to buy and collect stubborn account receivables from SMEs through their blockchain platform.
Ant Financial, the highest valued Fintech Company in the world, announced that in three months time it would launch its blockchain system to give SMEs dependable financial services.
Away from China, to accelerate bond issuance, Santander issued $20 million bonds that traded on Ethereum back in September.
- The head of China’s central bank digital currency institute said the e-CNY has undergone a major upgrade, and should be made available as an option in all retail scenarios.
- The PBOC official noted that platforms can integrate the CBDC in the short term using QR codes, and focus on upgrading their payment tools in the long run.
Office building of the People’s Bank of China. Flickr
- The team behind Multichain confirmed that their CEO was detained in China on 21 May, and that all of his electronic devices were confiscated by the local police.
- The CEO’s sister moved the project’s remaining funds to wallets under her control on 9 July, and several days later was also detained by the police, leaving the team with no funds.
- A new 13-count superseding indictment has accused Sam Bankman Fried of bribing one or more Chinese officials in order to unfreeze accounts connected to Alameda.
- In early 2021, Chinese authorities froze certain Alameda accounts on two of China’s largest crypto exchanges”, which reportedly held more than $1 billion worth of crypto assets.