Virtu Financial, M1X Global and Tradeweb completed an onchain repo transaction using a sovereign digital bond as collateral, with the full transaction settling on the Canton Network.
The transaction used USDM1, a US dollar-denominated sovereign bond issued onchain by the Republic of the Marshall Islands and backed 1:1 by short-term US Treasurys. The bond pays a coupon while being used as collateral and is structured under New York law as a fully collateralized sovereign obligation.
Both companies said it was the first repo to combine natively issued sovereign collateral with fully onchain atomic settlement. Executed between regulated counterparties on Tradeweb, the full repo and repurchase cycle was completed in under 10 minutes.
The transaction puts tokenized sovereign debt to use as collateral in an institutional financing transaction, rather than solely as an asset for issuance or trading, though it remains an early-stage example and it is not yet clear whether the model will see broader adoption across institutional repo markets.
USDM1 is available through electronic trading platform Tradeweb, with institutional custody provided by Anchorage Digital, BitGo and tZERO, according to the release.
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Canton Network sees flurry of institutional activity
Canton is a blockchain network designed for institutional finance, with privacy and permissioning features aimed at regulated transactions and tokenized assets.
Thursday’s repo follows a July transaction in which Tradeweb facilitated the real-time transfer of a tokenized US Treasury from Franklin Templeton to Virtu Financial on Canton, settling the transaction against USDCx.
Network activity accelerated in August. FalconX and Interstice launched a cross-chain swap engine connecting Canton with Ethereum, Solana and Robinhood Chain, while World Liberty Financial launched its USD1 stablecoin natively on Canton.
Digital Asset and the American Idea Foundation, founded by former US House Speaker Paul Ryan, also announced plans this month for a 2027 pilot that would use Canton to distribute state-administered benefits across three US states.
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