Tokenised trade finance

Global trade is at a crossroads: the world’s supply chains, once optimised for efficiency and scale, are now being restructured under the pressure of tariffs, sanctions and geopolitical realignment. The US China trade tensions have escalated into a broader contest of technological and economic dominance whilst regional conflicts and protectionist regulations have redrawn the map of global

commerce. The results are unmistakable: higher costs, fractured supply chains and a shortage of affordable trade credit. According to the International Finance Corporation, the global trade finance gap - representing unmet demand for short-term credit among exporters and importers - has widened to over $2.5 trillion in 2025. Notably, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for 90% of global businesses, bear the brunt of this shortfall. Traditional banks, constrained by stricter compliance rules and risk aversion, are retreating from cross-border lending (particularly in emerging marke…