Eurosystem Participants Experiment with DLT Solutions for Wholesale Payments

BNP Paribas participated in trials of three different DLT solutions for wholesale payments available within the Eurosystem, utilizing its own blockchain platforms.

Representatives of financial conglomerate BNP Paribas reported successful participation in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) experimental program, aimed at deepening the understanding of interactions between various segments of the Eurosystem’s payment infrastructure and market DLT platforms.

As part of the trial, BNP Paribas facilitated the issuance of a €100 million three-year tokenized eurobond by the European Investment Bank on the HSBC Orion platform. Acting as the DLT solution operator, BNP Paribas also issued €30 million of sovereign tokenized bonds for Slovenia and organized secondary market trading of the asset.

Similarly, BNP Paribas assisted Caisse des Dépôts in issuing digital bonds on the Euroclear tokenization platform (D-FMI), serving as both issuer and payment agent. Additionally, BNP Paribas tested cash settlement capabilities for bonds and simulated the issuance and settlement of tokenized bonds.

During the trials, BNP Paribas utilized its proprietary platforms, Neobonds and AssetFoundry, operating on the Canton and Ethereum blockchain networks, respectively, along with DLT platforms from Banque de France (DL3S), Deutsche Bundesbank (Trigger Solution), and the Bank of Italy (TIPS Hash-Link).

In June 2024, the ECB expanded its testing program for the interaction between the financial system and DLT solutions, engaging several major financial institutions, including BNP Paribas.