XDC: Blockchain, stablecoins aim to close $2.5T trade gap

At Consensus Miami in May, Travis John of XDC Network outlined how combining blockchain records with stablecoins could change cross-border trade settlement by placing documents and payments on a single ledger.

XDC has been building trade finance infrastructure since 2019 to address slow, paper-heavy processes and fragmented records in global trade.

John described how a single shipment can involve nine to 11 parties — banks, exporters, importers, logistics providers and financiers — and that each party often keeps separate records. Those disconnected records, he said, create delays and add cost to credit for trade transactions.

He cited a global trade finance market of about $15 trillion and stated that more than $2.5 trillion in financing demand goes unmet because lenders lack trusted, verified data to underwrite deals. When banks cannot see complete documentation, they raise risk premiums or decline financing, which can leave smaller importers and exporters without affordable options.

XDC’s proposal is to store trade documents — certificates, invoices, shipment details and other proofs — on a shared blockchain ledger so all participants can view the same verified information. John said that this visibility would allow lenders to underwrite transactions more accurately and reduce the time and cost needed to fund trade flows.

He described the project goal as “a better, faster, cheaper, more transparent way to track global commerce.”

John also outlined a payments approach he called a “stablecoin sandwich,” in which fiat is converted to stablecoins on the sender side, moves on-chain during the transaction, and is converted back to fiat on the receiver side. He estimated settlement that can take about seven days through traditional channels could happen closer to 24 hours, depending on the parties and corridors involved.

Framing the investment case, John described trade finance instruments as claims on cash flows tied to real goods and invoices. He called the sector “kind of a boring business,” and said routine operations are where infrastructure can change outcomes for firms that rely on trade financing.

At the conference he pointed to expected results from clearer records and faster payments: lower financing costs for smaller traders and better access to credit for firms that currently cannot meet lenders’ documentation standards. He suggested cost declines in some cases could be about 50 percent, but did not present detailed case studies or independent verification at the event.

XDC is working with banks, logistics providers and other participants to make on-chain documents usable for underwriting and to link blockchain records with off-chain legal and banking processes. Trade finance includes letters of credit, invoice financing and other short-term lending tied to the movement of goods; the sector has long faced paperwork, slow reconciliation and limited transparency. Other projects also propose combining document verification with tokenized or on-chain payments to accelerate settlement and reduce friction.