Commonwealth Bank Develops Blockchain for Government Bonds

A major bank in Australia is developing a blockchain-based system for the sale of government bonds.

The Australian Financial Review reported that Commonwealth Bank of Australia has designed a blockchain network concept that could be utilized to issue and exchange government bonds. The Queensland Treasury Corporation, which acts as the Australian state’s central financing authority and provider of treasury services, is said to have tested the concept.

Other states in Australia, according to the newspaper, have also eyed the technology.

Deputy CEO for the Queensland Treasury Corporation Grant Bush told the publication:

“[We are] looking at the long-term implications of the technology as a semi-government issuer and broader market participant.”

A number of companies and organizations have looked at the tech as a mechanism for issuing digitized bonds, leveraging blockchain as a means of transfer.

French bank BNP, for example, announced last September that it was exploring the tech for use in distributing mini-bonds. That same month, eight members of the R3 bank consortium announced that that they had tested a system for trading US Treasury bonds, leveraging a platform developed by Intel dubbed Sawtooth Lake.

According to AFR, next steps include seeking regulatory approval for the project, which Commonwealth Bank intends to pursue in the months ahead.

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