According to a press release provided by Metinvest Group, this blockchain transaction demonstrates the importance of digitalization in the steel industry. According to the press release, the underlying transaction is the purchase of equipment for one of Metinvests production re-rollers from a European supplier. One of the pilot projects objectives is to try the new platform from the client side, so that the Group can evaluate its potential as a new type of payment terms that it can offer to some of its major customers.

Exploring the potential of blockchain trade finance is one way that Metinvest Group is implementing its digital innovation strategy, the Group said in its press release.

The we.trade platform works in partnership with major European banks (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) and is based on distributed ledger technology, the major underlying elements of which include blockchain and smart contracts. When a smart contract is created on the we.trade platform, the payment will be automatically triggered according to the terms agreed by the counterparties once the buyer has confirmed the delivery of the goods, making the transaction considerably faster and more transparent.