Enabled by the blockchain technology, the new platform for sustainable digital bonds will reward participants for improving their environmental footprint

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SEB and Crédit Agricole are jointly launching a sustainable digital bond platform so|bond, built on blockchain technology. With the help of a validation protocol Proof of Climate awaReness, it rewards participants for improving their environmental footprint.

The platform enables issuers in capital markets to issue digital bonds onto a blockchain network, thus, improving efficiency and enabling real-time data synchronisation across the ecosystem participants. The platform’s open, transparent and secure model allows issuers raise capital and manage securities through smart contracts with high mutual trust.

So|bond smart contracts automatically execute, control and register events and actions according to the terms of a particular contract. Besides, the platform can potentially support emerging types of digital currencies such as CBDC.

Blockchain technology is often labelled as a high energy consuming solution. However, the networks are increasingly transiting to more sustainable proof-of-stake protocols, with more and more eco-friendly crypto projects appearing on the market.

In this respect, so|bond adopts an innovative approach, using the Proof of Climate awaReness validation protocol. It remunerates?each node according to a formula where its climate impact is evaluated with the Life Cycle Assessment ISO standard. Therefore, the nodes with the lowest environmental footprint would get the largerst rewards.

Not only does the system enable a low energy consumption comparable to non-blockchain systems but it also provides incentives for participating nodes to continually improve the environmental footprint of their infrastructures.

The platform was developed in collaboration with the IT provider Finaxys. The methodology for measuring environmental impact was developed by APL Data Center and is currently applied by SGS, a world-leading certification expert. The organisations claim so|bond is the first use case of the new blockchain validation protocol in global capital markets.