Spanish stock exchange to test blockchain for SME financing


The Spainsh stock exchange (BME) is to test a platform that helps small and mediuem-sized businesseses to raise financing through the issuing of participatory loans and convertible notes represented as digital assets in a blockchain network.

The trials, conducted in collaboration with firms in the SME financing ecosystem, will take place in a sandbox environment hosted by the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

The platform’s entry into the sandbox represents the second phase in the project’s roadmap, following a successful pilot conducted in the summer of 2020 with a number of investment services firms, issuers and investors.

The digital asset marketplaceis primarily aimed at facilitating the financing of limited liability companies, which, in addition to their size, due to their status as LLC, face limited financing alternatives other than bank financing.

The blockchain platform integrates an electronic money solution (EDE) so that users have an e-wallet where all their assets are stored, both electronic money and financial instruments represented as digital assets.

The project’s blockchain network is based on Ethereum technology.