Trade Finance

Ethereum

R3 Corda Now Has a Bridge to Public Blockchains With Arrival of Ethereum-Based XDC

Ian AllisonMar 30, 2021

Former RBS bankers from blockchain startup LAB577 built the bridge.

Custody

Aegis Custody Clears Hurdle in Bid for South Dakota Trust Charter

Danny NelsonDec 11, 2020

Aegis Custody wants to build a tokenized bridge between U.S. investors and trade finance opportunities in Asia.

Telecoms

Russia’s Telecom Giant MTS Invests $11.7M in Blockchain Trade-Finance Service: Report

Anna BaydakovaJul 27, 2021

MTS bought 51% of Factorin, a Russia-based trade-finance service, for $11.7 million.

Venture Capital

Indian Trade Finance Startup Raises $3.7M in Token Sale Led by Arrington XRP

Brady DaleOct 13, 2020

Persistence has closed a $3.7 million token round led by Arrington XRP Capital and including Alameda Research, Terra and others.

Trade Finance

World’s Biggest Mining Firm Makes First Ore Trade on a Blockchain

Sebastian SinclairJun 29, 2020

BHP has completed its first trial trade transaction of iron ore with China's Baosteel using blockchain technology.

Trade Finance

DeFi

MakerDAO Weighs Accepting Real-World Assets as Crypto Loan Collateral

Ian AllisonJun 4, 2020

Decentralized finance may soon boast a real-world use case as MakerDao considers accepting freight invoices as collateral for dai loans.

Trade Finance

IBM Takes 7% Stake in Trade Finance Blockchain Network We.Trade

Ian AllisonMay 21, 2020

IBM has become a shareholder in we.trade, the blockchain-based trade-finance platform jointly owned by 12 European banks.

Letters of Credit

Standard Chartered Claims First Yuan-Based Letter of Credit Issued on a Blockchain

Paddy BakerMay 13, 2020

The bank said the blockchain letter-of-credit transaction – between mining giant Rio Tinto and Chinese firm Baosteel – was the first to be denominated in yuan.

Contour

Vietnam’s HDBank Taps Blockchain Network to Streamline Bank Credit for Corporates

Sebastian SinclairMay 8, 2020

The bank has signed on to a blockchain-based trade finance network from Contour with the aim of bringing corporate settlements into the digital realm.

China

China Injects $4.7M Into Central Bank’s Blockchain Trade Finance Platform

Paddy BakerMar 9, 2020

Thirty-eight banks have started using the platform since it entered the test phase in September 2018.

Accenture

Accenture Will Board Corporates Onto Marco Polo Shipping Blockchain

Nate DiCamilloDec 17, 2019

Accenture plans to help TradeIX create new use cases beyond banking for buyers and sellers within trade finance after backing the Marco Polo tech partner.