Huaxia Bank, a major state-owned Chinese lender, issued $637 million in blockchain-based bonds that were settled exclusively in the digital yuan. The issuance was executed through Huaxia Financial Leasing, a subsidiary of Huaxia Bank.
The bonds were recorded in real time on a blockchain ledger and settled via the People’s Bank of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), enabling on-chain recording and simplified, near-instant settlement. Using digital yuan wallets removed some intermediaries from the settlement process and streamlined post-issuance flows.
The move highlights practical adoption of blockchain technology within China’s regulated financial markets and advances the tokenization of financial assets by state-owned institutions. Chinese banks are increasingly incorporating blockchain into bond issuance to ensure immutability of records and to speed settlement. While China promotes the digital yuan for financial applications, the central bank continues to maintain restrictions on private cryptocurrencies.
Key takeaways:
– Huaxia Financial Leasing issued $637 million in blockchain-based bonds settled in digital yuan.
– The issuance demonstrates real-world use of blockchain and China’s CBDC to improve bond issuance and settlement efficiency.
