The Bank of Canada, along with RBC Capital Markets, TD Bank Group (TD) and Export Development Canada (EDC), have completed Project Samara, a trial bond issuance with tokens on a distributed ledger infrastructure, according to a recent press release.
During the pilot, ECD issued a 100 million token bond that was sold and settled on the Samara Platform using central bank funds.
The Samara Platform, built on the Hyperledger Fabric, integrates separate bond and cash ledgers to support end-to-end transactions, including issuance, bidding, coupon payments, redemptions, and secondary trading.
The architecture allows for faster settlement and enables secondary market trading directly on the chain, eliminating the usual delay between trade execution and final settlement.
“Project Samara shows how the public sector and industry can work together to bring innovation to the payments ecosystem,” said Ron Morrow, Senior Director of Payments, Regulation and Oversight at the Bank of Canada.
The test expanded on earlier efforts in the Jasper project series, which examined digital currencies and fintech applications in Canada’s financial infrastructure. Project Samara used a real bond that was funded and traded in the currency of a major bank rather than simulated assets.
Tests have shown efficiency and risk management benefits. Participants reported efficiency gains across several aspects, including improved workflow and improved data integrity.
The platform has reduced collaboration and settlement risk by enabling atomic settlement, according to results.
The power of secondary trading has shown how token assets can move between parties without the burden of reconciliation that characterizes traditional bond markets.
However, pilot findings indicate that widespread adoption may take time due to operational and regulatory barriers.
As noted, the complexity of the system slows down efficiency improvements, with stakeholders realizing increased coordination requirements, new management structures, and higher financing costs. Technology-related operational risks have arisen in terms of testing and back-testing processes, introducing risks that are not present in the current market infrastructure.
Regulatory gaps present another challenge. Centralized functions such as market execution, storage, and off-site trade reporting highlighted the conflict between existing regulatory frameworks and the decentralized principles underlying distributed ledger technology.
RBC Capital Markets, which is part of Royal Bank of Canada, emphasized the payment potential demonstrated by the platform. Jim Byrd, Global Head of Macro Products at RBC Capital Markets, described the breakthrough as “reimagining how issuers and investors can interact with fixed income markets.”
Scott Moore, Vice President of Finance and Chief Operating Officer at EDC, noted the release as “an important step in deepening our understanding of tokens.”
