UniCredit Completes First Blockchain Transaction via we.trade

Published on 02 August 2018 by Cryptovest Staff

UniCredit said that it has succeeded in completing the first ever international transaction on we.trade

Italian bank UniCredit announced on Thursday that it has carried out the first blockchain-based international transaction on the we.trade platform, which was in a pilot phase until now.

The operation involved the German online retailer navabi GmbH, which used the blockchain platform to place an order with a Spain-based supplier. The transaction was the first such operation in Germany, according to UniCredit’s press release.

“we.trade is a success story in bank collaboration and we are delighted to announce our first transaction. Over time, we are confident that the platform will redefine trade relationships between SMEs and increase the connectivity of the financial ecosystem as a whole - something our clients stand to firmly benefit from,” Gianfranco Bisagni, who co-leads UniCredit’s corporate and investment banking, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The platform, developed by eight European banks, leverages the distributed ledger technology (DLT) to monitor the entire transaction move (end-to-end) and relies on smart contracts, which are used to automate payments.

The concept of smart contracts exists before Bitcoin and the blockchain itself, but it was put into practice by Ethereum and later adopted by many other blockchain platforms, including in the financial industry, as it speeds up transactions and ensures transparency.

The blockchain platform we.trade was launched by eight European banks, including UniCredit, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, and Societe Generale and aims to improve cross-border trade in line with customers’ expectations.

By the end of 2018, we.trade is hoping to add more banking partners to provide companies with access to uncovered international markets.