Siemens is one of the first companies in Germany to issue a digital bond, in accordance with Germany’s Electronic Securities Act (Gesetz über elektronische Wertpapiere, eWpG). Worth 60 million, it has a maturity of one year and is underpinned by a public blockchain. Issuing the bond on a blockchain offers a number of benefits compared to previous processes. For instance, it makes paper-based global certificates and central clearing unnecessary. What’s more, the bond can be sold directly to investors without needing a bank to function as an intermediary.

It has been possible to issue blockchain-based digital bonds in Germany since the Electronic Securities Act came into effect in June 2021. Siemens has used the new possibilities of the Electronic Securities Act and sold the securities directly to investors without engaging established central securities depositories. Payments were made using classic methods as the digital euro was not yet available at the time of the transaction. The transaction was able to be completed within two days.