Colombia Central Bank Launches First Blockchain Bond Pilot

According to an official statement by Banco de la Republica, the bond will be issued, placed, traded and settled on blockchain technology through the use of smart contracts for the Colombian securities market. 

IDB Group is composed of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Fund, 

The pilot “seeks to verify the benefits of this new technology in the life cycle of a security, from issuance to maturity,” and is expected to last six months, Banco de la Republica added. 

Banco Davivienda, a Colombian bank based in Bogota, will issue the bond and IDB Invest will underwrite the entire issue. The statement added that operations will be recorded in LACChain, a platform launched by BID Lab, “leaving the complete traceability of the bond in blockchain technology.”

Operations’ money will be processed in the high value payment system of Banco de la Republica, which will act as an observer node in the blockchain network. 

IDB Group will contribute technical support for the implementation of the proof of concept with advice on both regulatory and technical aspects, the statement added.