Luxembourg achieves a European first with the issuance of its first DLT-native sovereign bond

The Luxembourg State Treasury has today reached a major milestone in the evolution of European financial markets with the successful placement of what constitutes the first sovereign benchmark bond to be issued natively on an infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology (DLT/blockchain).

This tokenized bond issuance, with a nominal amount of EUR 1.7 billion, a coupon of 3.70 % and a 10-year maturity, was issued through LuxCSD, Luxembourg's central securities depository, using Clearstream's D7 DLT platform. The transaction was carried out with the support of Spuerkeess, acting as lead manager, issuing agent and paying agent. The syndicate banks, Barclays, BGL BNP Paribas, Citi, Crédit Agricole CIB and Spuerkeess contributed to the placement of the bond to international investors. The bond will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

This issuance represents a major innovation for Luxembourg's financial centre and for European capital markets. Designed and executed in Luxembourg, it demonstrates the country's ability to combine technological innovation, legal certainty and operational excellence in support of sovereign funding.

Minister of Finance Gilles Roth stated: "This project perfectly illustrates Luxembourg's ability to bring together public and private sector stakeholders around innovative, high value-added initiatives. It further strengthens our position as a leading international financial centre and as a European laboratory for the financial technologies of tomorrow.

This issuance also marks a new step in the modernization of Luxembourg's sovereign funding strategy. By becoming the first European state to issue a benchmark bond natively based on DLT technology, we are demonstrating our commitment to fostering innovation while maintaining the highest standards of security, transparency and reliability."

The bond, governed by Luxembourg law and denominated in euro, benefits from the full range of market infrastructure required to meet the expectations of institutional investors. Thanks to its integration into a regulated and proven environment, it is notably eligible for use as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations, thereby enhancing its liquidity and attractiveness.

Press release by the Ministry of Finance