SME Bond Tokenization: the DEU Project in the EU

SME bond tokenization: the DEU project in the EU

Overview

How can European SMEs finance themselves better with blockchain? This MERGE Madrid talk presents the DEU project (decentralized EU securities), a pan-European platform —led by the Czech Technical University and built on the European Commission's EBSI infrastructure— to issue and trade tokenized company bonds, broadening access to capital and opening a cross-border market.

What you'll learn

• The problem: European SMEs depend on short-term financing
• The proposal: a pan-European platform for tokenized bonds
• EBSI: the European Commission's public blockchain infrastructure
• Advantages: lower costs and times, more investors and diversification
• Cross-border market: investing in SMEs from other EU countries
• Project status: regulation, roadmap and 2026 launch

Session summary

The problem: according to the talk, European SMEs lack resources to grow and rely on short-term financing, worsened by rate volatility and the economic situation.

The proposal: the DEU project —led by the Czech Technical University as a multinational consortium (with around ten partners across member states, according to the talk)— builds an open platform to tokenize company bonds, aligned with the Capital Markets Union and the proposed Savings and Investment Union.

The infrastructure: it relies on EBSI, the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure managed by the European Commission, which brings trust and traceability; it does not use stablecoins and acts as a bridge between traditional and digital finance.

Advantages: according to the talk, for issuers it means lower costs and onboarding times and a larger pool of investors; for investors, a unified scoring of bonds and international diversification; and for regulators, greater transparency and traceability.

The project: EU-funded and regulated under the DLT pilot regime (not MiCA); after the proof of concept and a minimum viable product already ready, it plans an open beta in early next year and a launch, with a license, in 2026, with primary and secondary markets.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, on the DEU project for tokenizing SME bonds in the EU.

FAQs

What is the DEU project?
According to the talk, a pan-European platform to issue and trade tokenized company bonds, led by the Czech Technical University on the EBSI infrastructure.

What advantages does tokenizing SME bonds bring?
According to the talk, lower costs and times, a larger pool of investors and a cross-border market within the EU.

Does it use stablecoins?
According to the talk, no: it acts as a bridge between traditional and digital finance under the DLT pilot regime, without stablecoins.

Is this investment advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes what was presented in the talk; it does not constitute investment or legal advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation.