Two major technology companies, Siemens and Samsung, have recently made significant advancements in the crypto sector. Siemens, a German technology giant, issued a €300 million digital bond on a public blockchain. The bond, set to mature in one year, was settled using SWIAT’s private permissioned blockchain and leveraged the Bundesbank’s Trigger Solution. DekaBank acted as the bond registrar, with several other banks participating as investors. Siemens highlighted that the transaction was completed in a fully automated manner and in central bank money, showcasing the efficiency of issuing securities in electronic form under Germany’s Electronic Securities Act.
Additionally, Siemens’ new digital bond also supports the European Central Bank (ECB) tests of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for settling securities with central bank money. This bond issuance follows Siemens’ debut of a €60 million digital bond in February 2023. Ralf P. Thomas, Chief Financial Officer of Siemens AG, stated that issuing another digital bond demonstrates their spirit of innovation and commitment to driving digital solutions for the financial markets.
On the other hand, Samsung’s venture capital arm, Samsung Next, has invested in Singapore-based Startale Labs as part of the Soneium Spark program. Startale Labs provides essential tools and infrastructure that simplify developing and deploying decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. By reducing barriers like high entry costs, lack of interoperability, and technical complexity, Startale Labs’ solutions make Web3 technologies more accessible and scalable for developers and businesses.
John Yim, an investor at Samsung Next, highlighted that they invested in Startale Labs because of the important tools and infrastructure they provide in the Web3 space. Sota Watanabe, founder of Startale Labs, emphasized their strategy of first securing distribution channels and engaging with people beyond the Web3 space. He stressed the importance of understanding existing problems and exploring how Web3 can address them, with all technical solutions being driven by the problems rather than the technology itself.
Overall, the involvement of Siemens and Samsung in the crypto sector signifies a growing interest and investment in digital assets and blockchain technology. Siemens’ digital bond issuance demonstrates the potential for efficiency and transparency in issuing securities on a public blockchain, while Samsung’s investment in Startale Labs showcases the importance of simplifying the development and deployment of decentralized applications. With both companies making strides in the crypto sector, it will be interesting to see how their involvement continues to evolve and impact the broader technology industry.
