KB Kookmin Bank, one of the largest banks in South Korea, issued the country’s first dollar blockchain bonds, raising $100 million in two-year debt. The digital paper was issued using the HSBC Orion blockchain platform and is connected to the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). This framework allows the bank to execute all stages of bond trading - from issuing and maintaining a register to trading and settlement - directly in the blockchain.

In KB, Kookmin Bank emphasized that traditional bond settlements usually take up to five days and require multiple stakeholders. Using distributed ledger technology (DLT) will significantly reduce these delays, increase transaction transparency and eliminate the need for manual execution of a number of operations. The Bank expects an innovative approach to issuance to help attract capital from international investors, and intends to continue integrating blockchain into its financial services.

This release was a logical continuation of KB Kookmin Bank’s strategy for implementing distributed ledgers, which the bank began to develop in 2019 to improve customer verification and anti-money laundering processes. In 2020, the bank already expanded its presence in digital assets by launching a treasury-based cryptocurrency storage service with the venture fund Hashed and the platform Cumberland Korea.