Banco Inter and Chainlink, in partnership with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), alongside global institutions Standard Chartered, Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), and 7COMm, have successfully completed the first blockchain-based international trade finance experiment for the primary sector, enabling small and medium-sized businesses to sell commodities abroad.
Under Phase 2 of Brazil’s Drex Central Bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, the proposed new trade finance platform enabled the test of a programmable Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) transaction and cross-border Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) transaction that can unlocks conditional and installment-based payments. The platform simulates the settlement exports across Brazil’s Drex network and Hong Kong’s Ensemble network, with Chainlink providing the secure infrastructure to connect the two environments and orchestrate settlement across jurisdictions in a compliant manner, and GSBN recording the change in title registry of the eBL along the payment process.
This marks the first time a blockchain-based title registry and a cross-chain payment infrastructure were connected via a single, automated workflow, setting a new standard for global trade settlements.
A New Marketplace for Inclusive International Trade
Led by Banco Inter and powered by Chainlink, the project enabled the central banks of Brazil and Hong Kong to use blockchain to settle a cross-border trade automatically, securely, and in real time. By supporting tokenized payments and automating title transfers via smart contracts, the platform lowers costs, reduces risk, and opens international markets opportunities to small and medium-sized businesses.
“Banco Inter relies on innovation to create solutions that have a positive impact on our clients’ financial lives and the broader economy,” said Bruno Grossi, Head of Digital Assets at Banco Inter. “By leveraging Chainlink to connect the BCB, the HKMA, and trade finance platforms, we’re building a more connected financial ecosystem that has the ability to underpin the future of global trade.”
Powered end-to-end by Chainlink, the DvP model automatically escrows and releases funds while transferring the eBL, removing the need for manual coordination between banks, platforms, and shipping parties. To mirror real-world trade conditions, the project also introduced a real-world asset token backed by commodities, providing counterparties instant liquidity and reducing both settlement risk and operational friction.
Secure, Cross-Chain DvP Settlement
The Chainlink platform is critical to the DvP solution, enabling real-time interoperability between the BCB and HKMA. Two core Chainlink technologies powered the programmable DvP/PvP solution:
● Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE)connected the BCB’s Drex platform with the Hong Kong Ensemble Network led by the HKMA, as well as a DLT-based Trade Finance Platform (TFP) on Besu and GSBN. CRE routed payment instructions between Drex, Banco Inter, and Ensemble—translating messages into the correct format when needed (e.g., ISO 20022 in this experiment)—and triggered the eBL transfers via the GSBN API.
● Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) enabled secure communication between the Drex platform and TFP, allowing events such as contract execution or credit release to be automatically synchronized between different networks.
“Chainlink successfully connecting the Central Bank of Brazil and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to enable secure DvP/PvP across borders is a major step forward for global trade,” said Fernando Luis Vázquez Cao, President of Banking and Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs. “Programmable cross-border payments, conditional on supply chain updates, significantly streamline operations and unlock massive automation efficiencies. We look forward to expanding our work and building out new capabilities to accelerate the evolution of international commerce into this new smart contract-enabled paradigm with Inter, Standard Chartered, and GSBN as part of this multi-jurisdictional project.”
Real-World Impact
The solution could bring meaningful benefits across the trade finance ecosystem. For banks, automated settlement reduces operational overhead and improves risk management. For export, import, and shipping companies, payments are released as goods approach delivery, reducing delays, and enhancing supply chain agility. Small and medium-sized businesses can now engage directly with overseas buyers, benefit from faster settlement, and secure new lines of credit through the tokenization of commodities and the automation of title transfers
What’s Next
Following the success of this project, BCB, HKMA, Inter, Chainlink, GSBN, and 7COMm are expanding the solution to support additional use cases, including open account trade. The project also aims to integrate directly with financial institutions via APIs and extend interoperability with other eBL providers to support broader adoption.
By combining innovation, social impact, and the Chainlink global connectivity standard, this project reinforces the role of blockchain in building the future of trade.