World's first cross-border transactions using euro on blockchain

On December 10th, 2019, Monerium and Tradeshift Frontiers carried out the world’s first cross-border euro transaction on the Ethereum network.

Using the Tradeshift platform, Tradeshift ordered goods from Shop Icelandic which in turn ordered the goods from their supplier, Nordic Store. Invoices and purchase orders were issued through Tradeshift smart-contracts and settled using Monerium e-money on-chain. Having e-money as a licensed form of digital cash on-chain enabled automatic execution of the transactions and near real-time cash settlements. In total, two euro transactions were made on the Ethereum Mainnet.

Earlier this year, Tradeshift and Monerium announced the first settlement of an on-chain invoice with on-chain e-money using smart contracts. This initial proof-of-concept involved Icelandic retailers and digital Icelandic krona issued as e-money on the Ethereum network. Following the successful smart-invoice pilot, Tradeshift and Monerium have now facilitated a sequence of cross-border transactions between suppliers and buyers involving a major currency - the euro. The transactions are described further in two Tradeshift blog posts: part one and part two.

In a previous post, we detailed how Monerium’s e-money is a simpler form of fiat than a traditional bank account and allows users greater flexibility than a traditional bank account. E-money tokens on blockchain have multiple benefits that are poorly or not supported by current financial infrastructure: (1) near real-time settlements, (2) low remittance fees, (3) direct cross-border transfers between and within businesses, (4) direct control and ownership of funds by users, and (5) automation through open standards and programmability. The euro cross-border transactions conducted in partnership with Tradeshift showcase how e-money on blockchains opens the door to mainstream applications of distributed ledgers. Together with Tradeshift and other partners, we are just beginning to realize the potential of decentralized finance.