Israel and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to Begin Digital Bond Testing

The Israeli Ministry of Finance Accountant General in collaboration with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) is set to commence the testing of a blockchain-backed platform for state digital bonds trading. This partnership is also bringing in digital asset custodian Fireblock and the United States software solutions developer VMware who will assist in the study.

The project has been tagged under the name ‘Eden’. Together, they will conduct live testing of a new blockchain technology-backed platform using smart contracts and tokenization for the trading and clearing of digital bonds. 

Ultimately, the Israeli Ministry of Finance’s Office of the Accountant General is seeking to use the test to streamline processes, reduce costs and reduce the time it takes for the issuance and clearance of state bonds.

“The clearing of the bonds on the trading platform and the clearing of digital assets are expected in the future to reduce costs, shorten the time periods involved in issuing and clearing the bonds, increase transparency, optimize processes and reduce risks – according to the stock exchange and the Ministry of Finance,” a local news source commented

Israeli Government ‘Eden’ Enters Pilot Phase

At the end of the day, they would have successfully improved transparency and mitigated risks.

Currently, the testing is being conducted with financial institutions in Israel and other foreign banks. A pilot mock issuance is ongoing with a series of new bonds and is expec. It will involve some units of digital bonds to be issued to the e-wallets of the participating banks.

Markedly, these digital bonds are meant to be paid for in digital currency which will be transferred to the e-wallet of the Israeli government.

“I believe that blockchain-based technologies are here to stay, and over time will permeate the core of the financial markets, thoroughly and deeply altering them. It is our duty to constantly examine new technologies and methodologies.” Yali Rothenberg Israeli Accountant General commented

Meanwhile, Fireblocks, one of the Israeli partnering firms recently announced that it has surpassed its Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) $100 million mark for 2022. This feat was achieved barely four years after the firm was established and three years after the release of its first product.