South Korea’s Hana Bank has issued a five-year digital bond valued at $100 million. The transaction utilized the Digital Financial Market Infrastructure platform provided by Euroclear, marking the first instance of a South Korean bank directly employing this blockchain-based system for such an issuance.
The entire lifecycle of the bond, including issuance, registration, and settlement, was managed on a distributed ledger network. By leveraging this infrastructure, the bank successfully reduced the settlement time from the traditional three to five business days to a same-day process.
The digital bond is integrated with Euroclear’s global settlement network. This connectivity enables investors to manage trades through their existing accounts and established trading systems. The service itself was originally launched by Euroclear in October 2023.
Euroclear previously utilized its Digital Securities Issuance service for a €100 million digital bond issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. That three-year instrument was listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange to support sustainable development initiatives.
