BondConnect is a platform that leverages blockchain technology to democratize financial access for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Designed with a focus on interoperability, BondConnect enables seamless asset transfers between multiple blockchain networks, breaking traditional barriers and expanding access to global capital markets.
Can you briefly present your team?
The BondConnect team is composed of experts covering the full project lifecycle, from development to strategic execution. Key members include:
- Xabier Rodrigo (Project Leader): Oversees execution, the roadmap, and strategic alignment.
- Petre Hosliag (Smart Contract & Full-Stack Developer): Responsible for implementing tokenization, APIs, and backend logic.
- Ángel Lafuente (Cloud & Infrastructure Architect): Ensures scalability and secure deployment.
- Iban Fernandez (Cloud & Security Architect): Implements system security, regulatory compliance, and scalability.
How did you come up with this project idea and what benefits will it bring to the end users?
The idea emerged from identifying persistent challenges for SMEs in accessing financial markets, such as high entry barriers, complex compliance requirements, and limited access to traditional instruments. Benefits for end users include:
- For SMEs (Issuers): Democratized access to capital markets through a streamlined, blockchain-based solution that reduces costs and complexity. It offers automated compliance tools (e.g., GDPR, MiFID II) and greater transparency.
- For Investors: Access to a diverse pool of tokenized assets with greater transparency and security provided by blockchain immutability.
How is TrustChain supporting your growth and what role does it play for the next steps in your development?
TrustChain has been pivotal in validating our user-centric architecture and ensuring alignment with European digital sovereignty goals. It supports our growth by:
- Ecosystem Integration: Facilitating compatibility with W3C DID standards and TrustChain SSI infrastructure, which is critical for our future compliance and identity integration.
- Validation: Providing a framework for rigorous user-centric assessment (UCA), which helped us achieve a high system usability score (SUS) of 82.89.
- Next Steps: TrustChain’s support positions us for real-world scaling and integration with EU-level infrastructures like EBSI and the European Digital Identity Wallet.
Why did you apply to the TrustChain call and has your vision changed since then?
We applied to align with the Next Generation Internet (NGI) vision of a human-centric, trustworthy, and decentralized internet. While our core mission to democratize SME finance remains, our vision has evolved from a purely technical focus to a “usability-first” approach. Feedback from TrustChain pilots shifted our focus toward abstracting blockchain complexity (e.g., simplifying wallet management and gas fees) to ensure adoption by non-technical users.
What is the most valuable takeout from the TrustChain project and why was the topic of the Open Call important to you/your team?
The most valuable takeout has been the importance of multi-dimensional user engagement—fusing quantitative KPIs with qualitative participatory methods to shape the solution. The Open Call’s topic (Decentralized Identity and Data) was crucial because trust is the currency of financial markets. Building a platform that guarantees data sovereignty and privacy-by-design was essential to creating a credible alternative to traditional finance.
Did you establish collaboration with any of the TrustChain teams or plan for any kind of synergies? If yes, what is the biggest potential in such collaborations?
Yes, we have established and planned synergies within the ecosystem:
- Collaborations: We worked with partners like Alastria and CIB for user recruitment and regulatory alignment.
- Planned Synergies: We are exploring integrations with SSI and verifiable credential providers within the TrustChain ecosystem to enable DID-linked bond issuers and credential-based investor whitelisting.
The biggest potential lies in interoperability and shared infrastructure. By integrating reusable components like bridge contracts and shared compliance tools, we can reduce fragmentation in the European digital finance landscape. Additionally, cross-domain middleware projects allow us to pilot interoperability between tokenized assets and identity wallets.
What are your expectations regarding the TrustChain software ecosystem and its contribution to the NGI priority areas?
We expect the ecosystem to foster a European digital sovereignty that reduces dependence on non-EU infrastructures. BondConnect contributes to NGI priorities by enhancing digital self-determination through user-controlled wallets, promoting data sovereignty, and supporting sustainable, energy-efficient technologies (e.g., using Polygon PoS and efficient cloud architectures).
What are the next steps for your team?
Pilot Execution (D4): Conducting structured pilot sessions with SME issuers and investors in a hybrid sandbox environment .
Technical Hardening: Iteratively enhancing smart contracts and hardening cross-chain operations based on pilot telemetry .
Commercialization: Finalizing our go-to-market strategy, including white-label licensing for financial institutions and partnership formalization with KYC/SSI providers .
What is the message you would give to new and potential applicants to TrustChain Open Calls?
Focus on human-centric design and real-world validation. It is not enough to build robust code; you must ensure the solution is usable and solves a real problem for your stakeholders. The participatory model of co-creation is instrumental in achieving legitimacy and stakeholder alignment.