Lowering the Cost of Trust in Banking & Digital Asset Custody

Eliminate the manual, error-prone process of reconciling disparate databases between partners. A shared ledger provides an immutable, timestamped record of all transactions, visible to authorized parties. This cuts reconciliation time from days to minutes and provides a tamper-proof audit trail for compliance (e.g., SOX, GDPR). Example: A global shipping consortium reduced document processing costs by 80% by moving bills of lading to a blockchain.

Reduce the cost of verifying product origin, authenticity, and ethical sourcing. By tracking assets on a permissioned blockchain, you create an unbroken chain of custody from raw material to end consumer. This mitigates fraud, enables rapid recall management, and provides verifiable data for ESG reporting. Example: Walmart reduced mango traceability time from 7 days to 2.2 seconds using a food traceability blockchain, drastically lowering inspection costs.

Minimize capital tied up in collateral and lengthy settlement cycles. Smart contracts automate contractual obligations and payments upon predefined, verifiable conditions (e.g., delivery confirmation). This enables atomic settlements, reducing counterparty risk and freeing working capital. In trade finance, letters of credit processed via blockchain can cut processing time from 5-10 days to under 24 hours, reducing fees and fraud.

Disintermediate costly third-party validators and clearinghouses. In sectors like capital markets or cross-border payments, blockchain enables peer-to-peer value transfer with near-instant finality. This bypasses traditional intermediaries, slashing transaction fees. Example: Santander's blockchain-based international payment service reduces the cost of cross-border transfers for corporate clients by eliminating correspondent banking layers.

Drastically lower the cost of regulatory reporting and compliance audits. Data written to a permissioned blockchain is immutable and timestamped, creating a verifiable record for regulators. Automated reporting via smart contracts can push required data to regulators in real-time, replacing costly quarterly manual processes. This is transformative for KYC/AML processes in banking, where a shared, updatable customer profile can cut per-check costs by over 50%.

Replaces manual audits and paper trails with an immutable, shared ledger. Maersk's TradeLens (now in transition) demonstrated a 40% reduction in documentation processing time. Key benefits:

• Automated compliance: Real-time tracking against ESG and import/export regulations.
• Reduced disputes: Single source of truth for all parties cuts reconciliation costs.
• Enhanced brand value: Provides verifiable proof of ethical sourcing to consumers.

Eliminates correspondent banking layers and multi-day settlement delays. J.P. Morgan's JPM Coin settles intraday wholesale payments, freeing billions in trapped capital. The business impact:

• Cost reduction: Cuts transaction fees by up to 80% compared to traditional wire transfers.
• 24/7 Operations: Enables real-time, round-the-clock settlement, accelerating cash flow.
• Audit trail: Every transaction is cryptographically sealed, simplifying compliance (e.g., for OFAC).

Shifts from costly, repetitive KYC/background checks to user-owned, reusable credentials. The EU's EBSI/ESSIF framework allows citizens to control and instantly verify diplomas or business licenses. ROI drivers:

• Operational efficiency: Reduces manual verification workload for HR and compliance teams by over 70%.
• Fraud prevention: Tamper-proof credentials drastically reduce identity fraud costs.
• Regulatory alignment: Provides a robust framework for GDPR and eIDAS compliance.

Solves the double-spending risk in invoice financing without a central registry. Platforms like Marco Polo and we.trade use blockchain to create a single, immutable record of an invoice and its payment obligation. This unlocks value:

• Faster liquidity: SMEs get paid in days, not months, by providing banks with verifiable asset data.
• Reduced risk: Banks can confidently finance with real-time visibility into transaction lifecycle.
• Process automation: Smart contracts auto-execute payments upon delivery, cutting administrative overhead.

Digitizes and secures property titles, reducing fraud and title insurance costs. Sweden's Lantmäteriet (land registry) pilot showed potential to cut processing time from months to days. The tangible benefits:

• Title fraud mitigation: Immutable history of ownership prevents fraudulent claims and sales.
• Lower transaction costs: Reduces reliance on title insurers and manual notary services.
• Increased liquidity: Enables fractional ownership and faster, more transparent property sales.

Creates a patient-centric, interoperable record while ensuring data integrity for research. Mediledger tracks pharmaceutical supply chains, while projects like Triall tokenize clinical trial data. The value proposition:

• Audit integrity: Provides an unforgeable audit trail for FDA/EMA regulatory submissions.
• Data monetization: Enables secure, compliant data sharing for research without compromising patient privacy.
• Operational trust: Reduces costs associated with data reconciliation between hospitals, insurers, and researchers.