European Banks Complete Real-Time Trades on We.Trade Blockchain, Industry Responds

A group of nine European banks have revealed that they have completed multiple real-time commercial trades via the blockchain technology.

According to We.Trade, seven trade transactions have been completed by 10 companies across five countries. The transactions were completed on the We.Trade blockchain platform through four banks.

Built on the IBM Blockchain Platform, and powered by the Hyperledger Fabric, the We.Trade solution is aiming to provide customers access to a simple user-interface that leverages innovative smart contracts. By doing so it hopes to open up potential new trading opportunities.

Created by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Societe Generale, and UniCredit, We.Trade is designed to make cross-border transactions simple.

Parm Sangha, blockchain lead at IBM in Europe, said of the announcement:

“As We.Trade has moved from pilot applications to conducting live transactions across borders, it has demonstrated the power of blockchain technology in an enterprise setting.”

Additionally, the technology is a “disruptive model that has the potential to reshape the future of global trade finance,” Sangha said.

This move by We.Trade demonstrates the possibilities the technology has.

That’s according to Roberto Rabasco, co-founder and application and cloud technology expert at Orvium, an open-source, decentralised framework for managing scholarly publications.

“Recently, we’ve seen other key players in the financial sector, including JPMorgan, preparing blockchain-oriented strategies and products which major banks could use to meet anticipated demand from clients,” Rabasco added.

We.Trade’s announcement comes at a time when Switzerland is reportedly moving closer to offering traditional banking services to the crypto companies that have set up there. Malta and Singapore are two other jurisdictions that are also providing attractive environments for the crypto industry.

According to Gianluca Giancola, co-founder & head of UX and design at blockchain-powered loyalty ecosystem qiibee, this venture by We.Trade “demonstrates not only the commercial potential of blockchain technology in a corporate setting,” but shows how “financial institutions [can] run more efficiently and with greater transparency.”

“The venture through the We.Trade platform gives more credibility to the technology and provides evidence for a concrete, resilient, and commercially viable use case,” Giancola added. “Many more banks are expected to join the platform on a license basis, which will further drive the adoption and development of the technology across institutions.”

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