BOCI, the investment banking subsidiary of the Bank of China, has successfully launched tokenized structured notes valued at 200 million renminbi abroad ($28 million) on the Ethereum blockchain.
This marks the bank inaugural attempt to issue a tokenized security in Hong Kong and also sets a precedent as the first Chinese financial institution to take such a step.
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The launch was carried out in partnership with UBS, the original entity.
In an official statement, UBS highlighted the novelty of the issuance, describing it as the first effort of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, being tokenized on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain under the laws of Hong Kong and Switzerland.
This transaction introduces regulated securities into the realm of public blockchain technology.
This development comes on the heels of UBS’s own issuance of a $50 million tokenized fixed rate note on a permissioned blockchain, completed under English and Swiss law in December of the previous year. Meanwhile, Robinhood, a popular trading platform, reported a sizeable 43% decline in crypto trading volumes in May.
Ying Wang, BOCI Deputy Executive Director, expressed her perspective on the achievement. She emphasized BOCI’s dedication to facilitating the simplification of digital asset markets and products for Asia Pacific clients through the advent of blockchain-based digital structured products designed especially for this demographic.
Wang also highlighted BOCI’s commitment to promoting the digital and innovative transformation of Hong Kong’s financial sector, inspired by the progress of the city’s digital economy.
Hong Kong has been a hub of cryptocurrency-related activity since it unveiled its new guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry on June 1. In an announcement earlier this month, First Digital stated that it was about to launch a novel stablecoin, which would be pegged to the US dollar but regulated in Asia.
