Hana Bank issues South Korea’s first digital bond using Euroclear’s blockchain

Hana Bank issued a $100 million digital bond through Euroclear’s blockchain settlement platform, completing the transaction the same day, the Yohnap Agency reported Monday.

This was the first time a Korean financial institution directly used the international depository’s distributed ledger infrastructure, the bank said, ranked second in South Korea with nearly $500 billion in client assets under management. Euroclear is a Brussels-based financial services company and one of the world’s largest central securities depositories (CSDs).

It shows how tokenization could make capital markets faster and more efficient. In this case, a traditional multi-day bond settlement process was replaced with same-day settlement on a distributed ledger.

“The $100 million digital bond issuance and implementation of T+0 settlement represent a significant step beyond simply diversifying our funding channels, as they bring blockchain technology into the capital market,” a Hana Bank official said, according to the Korea Herald. “We will continue to adopt advanced infrastructure and explore innovative funding solutions that meet the needs of global investors.”

Hana Bank and Euroclear did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for information.

Euroclear issued the foreign-currency digital bond via its Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI). It handles issuance, registration and settlement of securities on a distributed ledger rather than through conventional systems. Bond allocations and payments were completed on the issuance date, replacing a settlement cycle that typically runs three to five business days.

South Korea is racing to build a tokenized securities infrastructure ahead of a February 2027 launch date set by its Financial Services Commission (FSC) for a full tokenized framework. Hana’s bond is the first live proof that Korean banks can plug directly into established global blockchain settlement infrastructure without waiting for domestic rules to catch up.

The D-FMI platform connects to Euroclear’s existing settlement network, meaning institutional investors could buy and trade the bond through their current Euroclear accounts without installing separate systems. Hana used documentation from its existing global medium-term note program. Standard Chartered was the sole lead manager.