GLEIF integrates IOTA’s blockchain infrastructure for trusted digital trade

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and the IOTA Foundation have entered into a partnership that aims to make it easier and safer for businesses to prove who they are when involved in international trade transactions.

According to an announcement, the partnership will look into how the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and verifiable LEI (vLEI) can bring secure, verifiable digital identity to global supply chains.

The partnership means that GLEIF will integrate its system of unique and verifiable IDs for companies, with the IOTA’s distributed ledger technology which is a secure and decentralized way to record and share data.

The system will be part of the IOTA’s Trade Worldwide Information Network (TWIN), a decentralized trade infrastructure that facilitates real-time and verifiable data sharing beyond borders.

Per the deal, both partners intend to build a kind of blockchain-based digital passport for companies that works across borders to ensure that international trade is faster, safer, and more inclusive through interoperable systems.

There is an initial proof of concept for the system, and it’s exploring how organizations can “easily establish their digital identity in either of the LEI or IOTA ecosystems, and also reuse it across both, to create instant, on-chain trust for businesses participating in global supply chains, the announcement explains.”

With the system, firms involved in international trade will be able to instantly prove their identity online and customs checks, supply chain processes, and cross-border payments will be faster, more transparent, and less prone to fraud. In the same vein, smaller businesses could make the most of the system by getting easier access to global trade partners and even funding.

“GLEIF and the IOTA Foundation share a common belief that organizational identity and verification is the key to making global trade more efficient, transparent, and inclusive – and that this can best be realized through decentralized, open-source infrastructures,” GLEIF CEO, Alexandre Kech, said of the partnership.

“By examining the potential to connect complementary ecosystems and combine our experience and expertise in the development and application of verifiable credentials, this collaboration marks an important step towards the digitalization of global trade,” he added.

The Co-Founder and Chairman of the IOTA Foundation, Dominik Schiener, said with the integration, they can “deliver verifiable organizational identities directly into supply chain processes.”

“This will help streamline compliance, reduce friction, and unlock new opportunities for businesses of all sizes to participate in global commerce,” he remarked.

The IOTA Foundation announced the alpha release of its decentralized identity framework in March, and is part of its push to ensure an increased level of trust online.

Article Topics

decentralized ID  |  digital ID  |  GLEIF  |  IOTA Foundation  |  KYB  |  Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)  |  verifiable credentials