Solana gains utility as Citi, PwC complete trade PoC

PoC: Citi, PwC, Solana executed an end-to-end tokenized bill of exchange

A consortium comprising a global bank, a Big Four advisor, and a public blockchain completed a trade finance tokenization proof of concept, executing a bill of exchange’s full lifecycle as a token in a simulated environment. According to the February 2026 “Supply Chain Financing: Durable Global Trade in the Age of AI” report, the exercise covered issuance, financing, distribution, and settlement.

The PoC used smart contracts to automate business logic and executed processes that normally take days within minutes, operating near 24/7, according to Solana’s LinkedIn post. It demonstrated on-chain settlement of trade instruments with near‑zero manual intervention.

Why it matters: trade finance tokenization, legal certainty, interoperability

Legal certainty is central: where laws allow digital records to carry the same weight as paper, tokenized instruments can be enforceable. With such frameworks, trade finance tokenization can support efficient, negotiable rights transfer.

End‑to‑end execution matters because secondary distribution and liquidity depend on uninterrupted negotiability across issuance, financing, and settlement. Interoperability with existing trade finance systems and standards becomes decisive for institutional scale.

Project participants framed the milestone in these terms rather than as a purely technical feat. “Tokenisation in trade finance isn’t about noise. It’s about legal certainty, interoperability, and unlocking liquidity at scale,” said Joao Paulo Marchese, a trade and digital assets lead.

Operationally, on‑chain settlement and programmable workflows compress timelines, reduce reconciliations, and lower manual touchpoints observed in the PoC. For banks and corporates, this points to near‑continuous processing windows and clearer audit trails.

However, the results stem from a controlled environment rather than live production. Real‑world throughput, counterparty coverage, and integration with treasury, ERP, and custody stacks remain to be validated at scale.

From PoC to production: risks, compliance, and interoperability

Key gaps: privacy, KYC/AML, legal consistency, settlement finality, scalability

Privacy and confidentiality on public chains require careful design to prevent sensitive trade data exposure. KYC/AML controls must bind identities, permissions, and screening to on‑chain actions without leaking information. Cross‑border legal consistency and settlement finality frameworks need alignment. Performance and scalability must sustain institutional volumes under peak conditions.

Next steps: standards, integration, and regulated market adoption

Priority items include common data models and messaging standards, identity and permissioning frameworks, and integration into banks’ trade finance, compliance, and payments systems. Regulated market pilots can validate custody, accounting, and risk controls. Interoperability with existing platforms and domestic legal regimes will influence adoption pace.

FAQ about tokenized bill of exchange

How does tokenizing a bill of exchange work from issuance through settlement on-chain?

Issuance mints a unique token representing the bill. Smart contracts encode terms, control transfers, and trigger financing and settlement on‑chain, with lifecycle events immutably recorded.

Is a tokenized bill of exchange legally enforceable across key jurisdictions today?

Enforceability depends on jurisdictional laws recognizing electronic negotiable instruments. This PoC was internal and simulated; cross‑border consistency and court‑tested precedents remain prerequisites for widespread legal certainty.