In 2021, Deutsche Börse unveiled D7, its digital securities platform. To date its post trade subsidiary Clearstream has hosted the issuance of several billion euros of securities, but all using its centralized depository. Today Clearstream announced it issued its first digital bonds on the decentralized D7 DLT. Two €5 million bonds were issued, one by DekaBank and the other by DZ Bank, with the banks acting as investors in each other’s bonds. The transactions formed part of the Eurosystem wholesale DLT trials using central bank money for settlement.
In this case the transactions were settled using the Bundesbank Trigger solution, which links to the TARGET2 payment system. Both the bond issuances and the settlement were real transactions.
“With our new D7 DLT, launched for the ECB trials, we provide seamless processing of digital assets and high-quality cash on-chain, which is an important step in developing a digital European securities landscape,” said Jens Hachmeister, Head of Issuer Services & New Digital Markets at Clearstream.
Meanwhile, DekaBank is also trialing its own platform, SWIAT, as part of the Eurosystem wholesale DLT trials. It’s working with LBBW, one of SWIAT network participants.
“The delivery versus payment of the Trigger Solution proves how the issuing and settlement processes of private blockchains and wholesale CBDC will interact in future. As issuer, banks benefit from the speed, scalability and security of the new technology,” said Silvio Lenk, Head of Treasury at DekaBank.
The three institutions were part of the first wave of trials from May to November this year.
Last week, the European Central Bank announced the 48 participants in the second wave, which starts this month with the same end date.
