Alternative financing for SMEs relies on tokenised assets

When "digital bonds" for SMEs in Spain come up, it is worth distinguishing between two different things. One is Kit Digital, the public programme aimed at subsidising the digitalisation of small businesses. The other is the tokenisation of debt instruments, such as bonds or participatory loans, as a route to alternative financing.

This second route allows investment to be fractionalised, broadens the investor base and reduces intermediation costs compared with traditional bank financing. Spain already has a regulatory framework for this: as of 2026, Ursus3 Capital is the only entity authorised in the country to register instruments represented as securities (ERIR).

For these tokenised instruments to circulate with full legal validity and traceability, they need to operate on infrastructure that is compliant by design. That is the role ISBE can play: a public-permissioned network with European regulatory compliance built in.