Major milestones in trade finance, real world asset tokenization and protocol security serve as catalysts for growth as we approach 2025

XDC boldly brings blockchain to the real world

Blockchain adoption gained widespread appeal in 2024. Now more than ever, XDC Network is being recognized as an important piece of the global crypto landscape. 

Through novel trade finance applications and major technology upgrades, XDC Network achieved a level of adoption not seen in its first five years. As the crypto industry converges with the real world, XDC Network’s long-term vision for asset tokenization and enterprise use cases now meets with real world demand. 

In 2024, the environment surrounding blockchain in trade finance improved significantly with the promise of crypto legislation and regulatory guardrails in the U.S. and elsewhere on the horizon. In some parts of the world, such developments have already been realized. In June, France officially adopted the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) — which provides a framework for the legal use of electronic transferable records. Japan followed only a month later, joining the UK and the UAE in recognizing electronic bills of lading.

Leveraging this regulatory clarity, XDC Network saw deepened integrations with XDC Trade Network, the MLETR-compliant platform for trade document exchange, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) TradeTrust, the legalized and standardized digital trade platform.

Trade finance assets are synonymous with real world assets (RWAs)

As a trade finance blockchain, XDC Network has been an asset tokenization network since its founding — one that offers a complete RWA tokenization platform for any project and is fully integrated with the tokenization tracking platform, RWA.xyz. XDC Network is host to projects that tokenize commodities, private credit, and access to an ETF that tracks U.S. treasury bills, to name a few. 

Notable RWA tokenization projects launched on and around the network this year included the following:

The UK’s first FCA-regulated digital securities exchange, Archax, integrated with XDC Network with the specific focus to enable financial institutions to access tokenized RWAs more efficiently and to broaden the adoption rate in global financial markets in the process.

Singapore’s InvestaX announced its launch on XDC, bringing a licensed and regulated tokenization platform to the ecosystem. 

XDC Foundation engaged with Plug and Play Tech Center to host and manage an enterprise RWA accelerator that sourced established startups with a specific focus on tokenization and enterprise applications.

As tokenization began to flow throughout the blockchain industry, XDC Network participants set anchor in a unique token offering targeted for a Q1 2025 launch. The upcoming project will create novel on-chain liquidity and earning opportunities while providing capital for one of the network’s bread-and-butter industries.

XDC Network is a destination for globally recognized technology leaders

In addition to the Archax integration providing a broader reach in RWA tokenization and regulated environments, Deutsche Telekom MMS launched a masternode on XDC Network. Leveraging its vast web3 infrastructure capabilities, the German technology giant helps enable innovative and secure applications on the network.

The APAC team made headlines this year when SBI XDC Network APAC and SBI R3 Japan completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) experiment with R3 Corda. The experiment demonstrated a successful digital asset transfer over R3 Corda and XDC Network, proving that assets like $XDC can serve as a form of payment to improve efficiency and facilitate inter-business settlement in trade transactions. Additionally, the use of the $XDC native token allowed for one-stop execution of instant settlements while encompassing both the private transaction details and the public value transfer data.

XDC 2.0 — an upgrade with serious implications for the blockchain industry

The XDC protocol team delivered the much-anticipated XDC 2.0 upgrade, ensuring XDC Network remains one of the most secure, efficient, and trusted blockchains. 

The 2.0 upgrade introduced state-of-the-art security, employing forensic monitoring not yet seen in the blockchain industry. XDC 2.0’s security update will identify and destroy nodes deemed to be malignant, slashing their tokens immediately and protecting the network from harm. XDC 2.0 also requires only three-block finality. New blocks are generated every two seconds. 

The launch of XDC 2.0 comes after a rigorous three-year period of development and testing and a completed CertiK audit.

Subnets enable the creation of bespoke private networks with the security of XDC mainnet 

We recognize that many risk-averse organizations prefer a conservative approach to implementing blockchain technology. The XDC 2.0 upgrade provides institutions and any network user the ability to launch subnets—private, sovereign networks—to combine the advantages and security of the XDC Network with a fully private blockchain.

A series of user-friendly applications will come with the subnet launch on the network, including:

Subnet Generator - an application that provides scripts to deploy subnets.

Subnet Manager - a user interface to manage the subnet structure and its interactions with other subnets and mainnets. It also provides subnet statistics.

Subswap - a user interface for swapping tokens across subnets or mainnet.

XDC Zero - the infrastructure to support cross-chain interoperability for XDC subnets (as well as the XDC mainnet).

Network progress was made through old-fashioned hard work, event participation, and accelerator programs

Hard work is only sometimes seen, but its effects are nearly always felt. The heads-down approach of so many in the XDC community strengthened the network worldwide. Some of those efforts and their results included the following:

In Australia, XDC Network was a finalist in the Technology & Infrastructure Leader for Blockies award in the Australian Blockchain Industry Awards. The network is also represented on the Digital Economy Council of Australia.

In Brazil, state-owned SERPRO integrated the XDC Network for KYC purposes, while the  MercadoBitcoin platform worked with TradeFinex to launch an RWA fixed income token — the first ever in Brazil.

The government of Zanzibar created the National Blockchain Sandbox on the XDC Network to stimulate digital asset and blockchain technology growth in that country.

XDCDAO launched, marking a major milestone in creating a decentralized governance structure, thus empowering the growing XDC community to contribute to the network’s direction.

Etherscan integrated XDC Network to create the gold standard XDCScan explorer.

CodeRun.ai revolutionized blockchain programming on the XDC Network and uses AI to assist anyone in smart contract development for their network application. 

Account abstraction technology was enabled on the network, which allows for a more integrated use of smart contracts to manage user accounts. 

Community members from XDC Foundation and XinFin participated in a host of conferences in the blockchain and trade finance areas to create new partnerships and advance the network’s use cases. 

There were multiple Global Trade Review (GTR) events worldwide where foundation and XinFin members attended or spoke on industry-relevant panel discussions. 

XDC Network was featured at the second annual Trade Finance Investor Day in the UK, where Billy Sebell, Executive Director of XDC Foundation, was a keynote speaker.

XDC Network received the Leader in Hybrid Blockchains Award at ABC Conclave 2024.

XDC Network was promoted at the widely-attended ETHDubai, Consensus, and RWA Day conferences.

Accelerator programs flourished in XDC Network communities throughout 2024 

The aforementioned Plug and Play accelerator program focused on startups with specific RWA and enterprise applications, while accelerators like Tenity and Brinc provided EVM-compatible projects with mentorship, portfolio exposure, and ongoing technical support. XDCDAO supported the XDC Accelerator Program, and XVC Tech co-launched Pivot-to-XDC along with Pivot. All of these programs have the common goal of attracting high quality projects to the XDC Network.

In 2024, XDC Network moved towards solving an increasing number of problems in the real world through collaboration, efficiency, and technical security. While the real world took a step closer to blockchain at large, XinFin’s earliest vision for the network continued to pave the way for adoption and transformation.

Next year holds hope in many ways for the digital asset industry, and XDC Network will continue to be a beacon of innovation. We saw an increase in regulated projects come onto the network this year, and we expect that will continue throughout 2025 as legislative and regulatory progress provides some much-needed industry framework.

This regulatory clarity will provide space for creative solutions to emerge, further leveraging off-chain assets for on-chain utility and liquidity. The upcoming USDC and USDT bridges, combined with the efficiency and security of the network, ensure XDC will be a natural home for stablecoin use cases to emerge and grow. Meanwhile, subnets open the door for institutions balancing customers’ privacy with appropriate financial transparency.

The XDC brand has come a long way. From Wayne Rooney and Jason Sudeikis repping XDC at DC United to the widespread use of the XDC name throughout global events each year, the XDC Network has become recognizable in circles broader than the crypto industry.

Mainstream opportunities and the XDC Network’s firm footing in the industry are about to intersect. For the XDC community, it is time to leverage the technology, the brand, its values, and the hard work throughout the ecosystem; and capitalize on the brightest outlook ever for the digital asset industry. 

At this point of confluence between the new and the old, XDC Network stands ready to receive what is coming downstream and serve the industries ahead.

1. @ArchaxEx, a regulated digital securities exchange, has joined forces with XDC Network to drive RWA tokenization.

This collaboration aims to provide financial institutions with blockchain-based, compliant solutions for tokenized real-world assets.

2. @EquitEdge, a platform for fractional real estate ownership, has implemented the ERC3643 standard on XDC Network.

This enables the creation of secure, compliant tokens aligned with regulatory standards like Singapore’s MAS and Europe’s ESMA.

https://x.com/EquitEdge/status/1864288979014516748

3. In the latest XDC MENA Podcast, @0xbeny shares how BBBPump.Fun evolved from a fun project into a purpose-driven platform.

Supported by the XDC ecosystem, it’s an inspiring example of collaboration and innovation in #Web3.

📺 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NEL2i_fwHs

XDC Weekly December 1st - December 7th, 2024

1. @investax, a MAS-licensed RWA tokenization platform, is bringing its regulatory-compliant SaaS solution to #XDCNetwork!

Backed by @PlugandPlayTC, this initiative aims to simplify and scale real-world asset tokenization for businesses worldwide.

https://www.investax.io/blog/compliant-tokenization-investax-xdc-network-and-plug-and-play

2. What’s ahead for digital finance? 🤔

Join an insightful panel featuring Greg Johnson of Rubicon Crypto, @AndreCasterman, Ziv Keinan, @XinfinUSA, & moderator @WBlueu as they dive into crypto regulations, utility tokens, RWA tokenization & more in 2025.

https://x.com/xdc_community/status/1867212280280031267

3. In the latest XDC APAC Podcast, Geoff Ira, Founder of @TradeTogether4U, joins @MohantySonny to discuss Web3 digital asset management.

From hybrid models blending Web2 & Web3 to global market expansion, don’t miss these insights!

📺 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZ3wD8X2o4

XDC Weekly December 8th - December 14th, 2024

This is a follow up to a previous article that I published titled, “Global Trade Finance and the Blockchain”. I aim to build upon my previous article and focus on the role that the XDC Network is playing in Global Trade Finance.

Global Trade Finance and the XDC Network

This post focuses on content from Gary Gensler in his MIT course on Blockchain and Money, you can watch a video of his lecture at this link:

Trade Finance & Supply Chain — MIT 15.S12 Blockchain and Money, Fall 2018, Gary Gensler

That last link is a lecture from Gary Gensler recorded during a course on Blockchain he taught at MIT in 2018. This lecture is focused on blockchain application in global trade finance and he puts up a slide (that I have reproduced below) that simplifies the workflow I covered in my blog post on Blockchain and Global Trade Finance.