China Construction Bank (CCB), the first in China to use blockchain for domestic letters of credit (L/Cs), has released the second version of its blockchain platform for trade finance.

BCTrade2.0 Blockchain digitises commodity trades and financial services between over 50 CCB branches and 40 external organisations.

Blockchain pioneer

In 2017, CCB claimed to be the first bank to use blockchain for domestic L/Cs, forfaiting, and international factoring and managed US$106 million of transactions in that year.

Launched commercially in April 2018, the platform has to-date processed over US$53.5 billion of transactions.

Platform features

The new platform features factoring for the first time, as well cross-chain connectivity and improvements in efficiency.

The bank has appointed its subsidiary, Jianxin Financial Services, to operate and maintain the new platform.

The Shanghai-based fintech firm was founded last April by the bank's affiliates, according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

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