PANews reported on December 18 that according to Bloomberg, a fund under BlackRock purchased municipal bonds issued earlier this year in a transaction that relied entirely on blockchain technology. According to a company spokesperson, BlackRock purchased these bonds through an actively managed ETF, the iShares Short-Term Municipal Bond Active ETF (MEAR). The fund was established in 2015 and has approximately $750 million in client assets.
The securities were issued in April by the city of Quincy, Massachusetts, with underwriter JPMorgan using an application on its private, permissioned blockchain platform to facilitate the sale. It was the first municipal bond transaction to be purchased, settled and held entirely on the platform through blockchain. BlackRock said it was one of the first investors to buy some of the bonds in the deal.
“The use of blockchain throughout the life cycle of a bond is just one of many examples of how this technology has the potential to transform capital markets,” said Pat Haskell, head of BlackRock’s Municipal Bond Group. “This transaction is an important moment for the municipal bond market and demonstrates BlackRock’s commitment to innovation.”
