Major European Banks Complete Live Trades On IBM Blockchain

The blockchain network led by IBM recorded its first live trades on the platform named we.trade.

Through four banks, 10 firms were able to trade 7 transactions across 5 countries over the past 5 days. Since they are the first transactions employing the blockchain technology, they are considered commercially viable and extremely important.

We are delighted to confirm that the https://t.co/yCDOCpSema blockchain platform has completed multiple real-time customer transactions. https://t.co/UuRhPztDz4@DeutscheBank @HSBC_UK @KBC_BE @natixis @Nordea @Rabobank @bancosantander @SocieteGenerale @UniCredit_PR pic.twitter.com/jIlBThc33c

— we.trade (@we_dot_trade) July 3, 2018

Meanwhile, the we.trade digital trade solution has been developed using the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain technology. As such, it leverages smart contracts, making it possible for event-based payments to be made automatically.

After a bidding process that drew six tech companies, IBM was granted the contract to offer a cloud-based platform in June last year. The members of we.trade consortium include the following banks: UniCredit, Societe Generale, Santander, Rabobank, Nordea, Natixis, KBC, HSBC and Deutsche Bank.

According to the chief operating officer of we.trade, Roberto Mancone, this joint will not limit itself to countries in which its founding members are based in:

“…We are delighted to have launched for the first time in the world, a blockchain based platform that enhances the overall customer experience when trading internationally. The next step will be getting buy-in from additional banks and their customers in Europe and further afield.”

We.trade is also looking to allow some banks to join on a license-type basis, allowing a faster expansion to as many financial institutions as possible.