XDC Ventures Acquires Contour to Tokenize Trade Finance
XDC Ventures, the investment arm of the XDC Network, has acquired Contour Network to drive tokenized trade finance. The deal merges Contour’s global banking consortium—formerly backed by HSBC, Citi and Standard Chartered—with XDC’s Ethereum-compatible Layer-1 blockchain, offering two-second settlement and ISO 20022 messaging.
Under the revamped strategy, the platform will digitize letters of credit using smart contracts and stablecoin payments such as USDC. XDC aims to automate trade finance processes, reduce costs and enhance liquidity across global supply chains.
XDC also plans to launch a Stablecoin Lab for pilot programs with banks and corporates in the US, EU and Asia. Observers view the acquisition as a major step toward broader institutional adoption of tokenized trade finance and real-world asset settlement, with the potential to save billions in annual financing expenses.
Bullish
The acquisition of Contour Network by XDC Ventures strengthens XDC’s position in institutional trade finance and real-world asset tokenization. In the short term, the deal will likely boost market sentiment and trading volume for XDC token as traders anticipate increased network usage. Over the long term, integrating stablecoin rails and partnerships with major banks can drive sustained demand, enhance liquidity and reinforce XDC’s real-world utility, supporting a bullish outlook.