Crédit Agricole Italia and BlockInvest together for the “tokenization” of bonds

Important step forward in the modernization process of the financial system thanks to the new collaboration between the Milanese fintech startup and the banking group, which will be able to offer investment tools to customers using blockchain technology.

Crédit Agricole Italia and BlockInvest, a Milanese fintech startup that has been committed for years to widespread adoption of blockchain technology and became the first Italian startup to receive an investment from the banking group in 2021, announce a new collaboration aimed at developing a solution for the creation and placement of tokenized bonds/minibonds.

The project represents a significant advancement in the modernization of the financial sector. In parallel with regulatory commitments with Banca d’Italia, Crédit Agricole Italia and BlockInvest will work on an operational project to issue tokenized financial instruments to be offered to the Bank’s customers.

According to Andrea Riva, Head of Area Capital Market and Open Innovation at Crédit Agricole Italia: “The tokenization of bonds represents a great opportunity to increase the efficiency and accessibility of financial instruments. The collaboration with BlockInvest will allow us to develop a cutting-edge platform that will enable our customers to benefit from this innovative investment method.“

Lorenzo Rigatti, CEO of BlockInvest, added: “We are excited to collaborate with Crédit Agricole Italia on this revolutionary project. The tokenization of bonds opens new prospects in the financial sector, offering greater liquidity and transparency. We believe that this technologically advanced solution can provide virtuous Italian SMEs with a new funding tool and allow investors to access this new class of assets.“

The objective of the project is to adapt the BlockInvest platform to new regulatory developments and the needs of Crédit Agricole Italia for the creation and placement of tokenized bonds. The entire process will be managed on a public blockchain.

The development will be divided into two phases. The first phase will focus on co-designing processes and conducting a functional analysis of regulatory impacts. In the second phase, future scenarios related to the tokenization process will be studied.

In particular, an in-depth study will be conducted to analyze possible incremental innovations, such as the introduction of the crypto euro, the automation of DvP (Delivery Versus Payment), on-chain investor registry (on-chain Identity), and the development of a secondary market for tokenized bonds. With this initiative, Crédit Agricole Italia and BlockInvest continue a development journey that began in 2021 with the inclusion of BlockInvest in Le Village by CA Milano’s acceleration program (the open innovation hub of Crédit Agricole) and consolidate their strategic partnership aimed at innovating the financial system.

About Crédit Agricole Italia

Crédit Agricole Group, one of the top 10 banking groups in the world with 11.5 million shareholders, is present in 46 countries, including Italy, its second domestic market. The Group operates with all lines of business in Italy, from commercial banking to consumer credit, from corporate & investment banking to private banking and asset management, to insurance services and services dedicated to high-net-worth individuals. The collaboration between the commercial network and business lines ensures broad and integrated operations for 5.3 million active customers through approximately 1,600 sales points and over 16,500 employees, with growing support to the economy amounting to 96 billion euros in financing. The Group includes Crédit Agricole Italia, as well as Corporate and Investment Banking companies (CACIB), Specialized Financial Services (Agos, CA Auto Bank), Leasing and Factoring (Crédit Agricole Leasing and Crédit Agricole Eurofactor), Asset Management and Asset Services (Amundi, CACEIS), Insurance (Crédit Agricole Vita, Crédit Agricole Assicurazioni, Crédit Agricole Creditor Insurance), and Wealth Management (Indosuez Wealth Management in Italy and CA Indosuez Fiduciaria).

Profile BlockInvest

BlockInvest is a rapidly growing fintech startup based in Milan, founded by professionals from the blockchain, real estate, and financial sectors. It provides “plug and play” and customized solutions for companies and financial institutions aiming to enter the blockchain space, with the tokenization of various types of real-world assets represented on the blockchain. 

Starting from December 2021, it became the first Italian startup in which Crédit Agricole Italia chose to invest. In May 2023, it was selected by Banca d’Italia among the projects chosen in the Call for Proposals for the creation of a platform for the issuance of tokenized debt instruments.

Photo by Alex Vasey on Unsplash

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