IOTA and Salus Unveil Bold Blockchain Solution to Fix $2.5 Trillion Trade Finance Gap

• IOTA partners with Salus to digitize global trade finance using tokenization and audit trails.
• Critical mineral supply chains face funding shortages and outdated processes.
• Integration with TWIN infrastructure enables digital identity, smart contracts, and real-time data exchange.

The global trade finance gap, last measured at over $2.5 trillion, continues to weigh heavily on businesses that need capital to move goods across borders.

Traditional processes such as paperwork, siloed databases, and costly intermediaries have left smaller players locked out. IOTA is targeting this structural weakness with digital public infrastructure that emphasizes real-time data, transparency, and automation.

The network’s latest initiative is its collaboration with Salus, a platform focused on modernizing trade finance in the critical minerals sector. Salus integrates with IOTA’s TWIN platform, which brings together digital identity, tokenization, and data sovereignty to create verifiable and interoperable trade workflows.

Salus and Critical Minerals Supply Chains

The cost of minerals like copper, lithium, and the rare earth minerals skyrocketed due to the increased development of artificial intelligence and the movement toward clean energy. Despite the increased prices, financing within the sector remains slow, piecemeal, and undercapitalized. Large commercial banks reduced their exposure, and small funders are deterred since little trust is placed for authentication.

Salus aims to bridge the gap through the digitalization of the supply chain data, converting it into verifiable, auditible assets. In real-time monitoring, funders can verify shipments firsthand, and through tokenization, the main trade documents such as warehouse receipts are converted into NFTs stored on the IOTA ledger.

They can be transferred securely between customs, insurers, forwarders and miners. Through harmonisation with international standards like MLETR, Salus streamlines compliance and speeds cross-border flows.

In addition to its on-chain protocol, Salus also employs decentralized funding channels, through the DeFi pools from stablecoin-backed liquidity. Both collectively facilitate settlement velocity along with elevated accessibility of the otherwise disenfranchised market participants’ capital.

Salus Uses IOTA Identity to Build Trust in Trade Finance

Verification of counterparty integrity beyond borders is one of the cornerstones of international trade finance. Salus uses IOTA Identity through the TWIN platform for the assignment of decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials not only for companies but for containers, transporters, and other stakeholders as well. Each such identity is recorded on the IOTA ledger, forming an immutable trust layer.

Moreover, Salus facilitates funding automation through IOTA Smart Contracts. Payment can be triggered upon confirmation of quality checks or inspection and can reduce the usage of intermediaries. Automating the process reduces delays and cuts operational cost.

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