A bitcoin-settled wheat transaction has been completed
A wheat deal involving freight delivery from Russia to Turkey is not usually something that grabs the headlines but in this case it was different. This was the first freight transaction that was entirely settled in bitcoin.
Bloomberg report that the Prime Shipping Foundation used blockchain tech to allow for payment of the deal.
It’s not the first commodity deal to be done using blockchain, as that title goes to Louis Dreyfus Co, who flogged a shipload of US Soybeans China’s Shandong Bohi Industry Co.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this news is that blockchain systems are starting to be actively used by big firms for everyday transactions, leaving the banks far behind. As Bloomberg also note that the tech could well help sanctioned countries overcome restrictions on trade via not being able to use currencies via normal banking methods, particularly USD.
For me, this is the real world of digital currencies in action, and where the long-term investment returns will be made. It won’t be in the flash-in-the-pan baseless coins and tokens but in the new tech that’s going to come out of the eventual carnage. I’m much more interested in these types of stories than I am over whether the price of Bitcoin has been on another $5000 rollercoaster ride.
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We agree about being quite over the next 20% move in whichever crypto flavor of the day is in the headlines. Those are inconsequential to everyday business. Blockchain technology, however, and its real-world applications, are going to be generationally important. As institutions stretch their digital legs, and cryptocurrencies become “ingrained” in deal settlement, with hedging potential, the world of commerce becomes more and more digitally efficient, safe, and stable. Banks? Not so much — as they either play catch-up or wither on the traditional currency vine.
Well put Bill.