A CHINA Construction Bank (CCB) unit in Malaysia said it is raising funds through the issuance of an up to US$3 billion bond using blockchain, the first such security to be publicly listed.

The first tranche of the bond will be tradable on Malaysian digital asset-focused FUSANG Exchange from Friday and investors, both retail and institutional, can buy into it using bitcoin as well as U.S. dollars, a statement from FUSANG and CCB said.

The listing is the latest step by banks towards using blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin, to issue bonds and other securities, which could make the bookbuilding and allocation process cheaper and more efficient.

Many newly established exchanges that are focused on digital assets or cryptocurrencies hope to facilitate the technological shift, which they say would allow previously illiquid assets to be securitized and traded.

The bond was issued by Longbond Ltd., a special-purpose vehicle established to issue digital bonds and deposit the funds with CCB’s branch in Labuan, an offshore financial center in Malaysia.

CCB Labuan was the lead arranger and listing sponsor of the bond which will offer an annualized rate of Libor + 50 basis points.

Steven Wong, chief operating and financial strategist at CCB (Malaysia) said the purpose of the exercise for the bank was both to see whether it was technically possible to issue a bond on a blockchain through an exchange and to determine the depth of the market for such a product.(SD-Agencies)