Cryptocurrency and blockchain are reshaping how global commerce moves. OpenTrade is promoting a solution that utilizes stablecoin USDC to provide an efficient, cost-effective alternative to classic processes such as relying on spreadsheets and PDFs in order to move money quickly within the global supply chain. Their announcement of $1.5 million in funding from investors including Sino Global Capital, Circle Ventures, Kronos Research and others shows the level of confidence in the company.

Dave Sutter and Jeff Handler co-founded OpenTrade in February 2021, following on from their respective roles in Centre, the consortium that manages USDC. Previously, their careers had been focused on the complexities of trade finance, the financial conduits and pipelines that drive global commerce. This background allowed the duo a platform from which to develop a better way and leverage the benefits of DeFi infrastructure with payment stablecoins. This can lead to moving trillions of dollars being removed from reliance upon spreadsheets and PDFs, and fully transition to programmable, internet-native digital forms, allowing them to be transferable, and facilitating real-time peer-to-peer transactions.

OpenTrade has already secured a major client in the port services sector, with the potential of moving $750 million in the next year alone. Without relying on their own clients having to pay all invoices upfront, OpenTrade will instead draw up to the full amount of the invoice through their sister company, Five Sigma. This venture was born from AGFE, a global enterprise that has over $3 billion in assets, and Five Sigma themselves manage a portfolio worth $700 million and are advised by Michele Bisceglia and Steve White, both former AGFE partners.

OpenTrade itself represents an evolution away from the traditional methods of finance, drawing upon the security and transparency offered by cryptocurrency. This can help to increase trust between buyers, sellers, and financial intermediaries, providing more efficient and cost-effective transactions for participants in the international supply chain. It also marks a significant milestone in the drive for greater decentralization of the global economy.



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