UBS-Backed Blockchain Platform Completes Live Trade Transactions

The Batavia blockchain trade finance platform has completed a pilot that conducted live cross-border transactions involving corporate clients.

AccessTimeIconApr 19, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 8:51 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Batavia, a blockchain-based trade finance platform founded by banking giant UBS in partnership with IBM, has conducted its first live cross-border transactions involving corporate clients.

According to an announcement released Thursday, the pilot effort saw the platform carry out the full cycle of trades, automatically forming agreements and closing payments, in a process powered by smart contracts and with transactions recorded on a blockchain.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • The platform conducted two trades – car sales from Germany to Spain and textile raw materials sold from Austria to Spain – and connected the suppliers, buyers and financial institutions required to facilitate the transactions.

    Jason Kelley, general manager of IBM Blockchain Services, said:

    “The members of Batavia have demonstrated how sharing data among permissioned network members can accelerate cross-border trades and bring new transparency to the financial system, both in real-time and at scale."

    First unveiled in 2016 by UBS at the 2016 Sibos banking conference in Geneva, Batavia is built with IBM Blockchain. It later gained participation from several major banks to advance its technological development, including Bank of Montreal (BMO), CaixaBank, Commerzbank and Erste Group.

    As part of Batavia's move toward a production-ready solution, the project is eyeing wider industry collaboration to include yet more financial institutions and fintech startups further down the road.

    UBS image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.