Layer-1 blockchain XDC Community’s enterprise arm stated on Wednesday it had acquired Contour Community, a digital platform designed for banks to streamline commerce finance with blockchain rails.
Contour was initially backed by main banks like HSBC, Citi and Normal Chartered however struggled to scale and was shuttered in late 2023. Underneath XDC’s possession, it will likely be restructured with recent capital injection, a revamped technique and a give attention to integrating stablecoins into real-world commerce processes, XDC stated in a press launch shared with CoinDesk.
The agency didn’t disclose the acquisition worth.
The acquisition comes as international banks and monetary establishments ramp up efforts to discover utilizing blockchain rails for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and stablecoin settlements. The method may save billions of {dollars} yearly in commerce financing alone by automating processes with good contracts and programmable digital funds on blockchains, a report by Ripple and BCG from earlier this 12 months projected.
XDC Community, an Ethereum-compatible layer 1 with two-second settlement instances and ISO 20022 messaging assist, is positioning itself as a hub for real-world asset tokenization. Its companions embody Circle (CRCL), Deutsche Telekom MMS and Securitize, and the community has built-in frameworks like MLETR and R3 Corda to assist cross-border finance.
“Banks want settlement rails, treasury optimization and compliance frameworks,” stated Ritesh Kakkad, co-founder of XDC Community and XDC Ventures. “We’re constructing all three.”
Contour specialised in digitizing Letters of Credit score, a sort of monetary instrument that banks use to ensure commerce offers. In previous dwell trades, Contour’s system helped cut back processing instances from days to hours, the agency stated. Leveraging the platform, XDC goals to supply end-to-end digital commerce finance from documentation to real-time settlement. The venture will start testing with regulators within the U.S., EU and Asia as a part of its subsequent part, XDC stated.
With the acquisition, XDC Ventures additionally unveiled a Stablecoin Lab to run pilot applications aimed toward banks and corporates. These pilots will take a look at how regulated stablecoins similar to Circle’s can be utilized to settle commerce transactions on a blockchain extra effectively than conventional rails.
Learn extra: Brazil’s VERT Capital to Tokenize $1B in Actual-World Property on XDC Community