French multinational bank and financial services company, BNP Paribas Securities Services, said Monday it is expanding its blockchain platform for private stocks to help private companies issue minibonds via crowdfunding platforms.
The bank is working in partnership with renewable energy crowdfunding specialists Lendosphere, Enerfip and Lumo on this initiative, which follows the French government’s initiative to allow private companies to issue minibonds via crowdfunding platforms.
The government is also encouraging crowdfunding companies to consider using distributed ledger technology, rather than existing individual ledgers, to ensure the authentication of transactions.
As part of the partnership, BNP Paribas Securities Services is working on a distributed ledger that will register all minibonds issued via the platform and record all related transactions and changes of ownership. Issuers and investors will benefit from a standardised process, which will ensure financial transactions are performed quickly, efficiently and securely, the bank said.
This latest partnership follows BNP Paribas Securities Services’ announcement in April that it was working on a platform designed to enable private companies to issue shares on the primary market and ultimately give investors access to the secondary market using blockchain technology.
“Blockchain technology is particularly suited to the fundraising needs of private companies as transactions volumes are typically lower than for listed companies,” said Marc Younes, head of business management at BNP Paribas Securities Services’ Innovation & Digital Lab in a prepared statement.
“This technology could also serve to standardize processes around the trade lifecycle of minibonds,” he added.
