IOTA officially launches trade finance solution Salus: unlocking a $2.5 trillion market through tokenization.

The IOTA Foundation recently unveiled an innovative trade finance platform called Salus, which leverages blockchain and tokenization technology to convert traditional paper documents, such as bills of lading, into digital assets (NFTs) in critical mineral supply chains. (Synopsis: From a new technology stack to global government digital trade cooperation: the ecological evolution of IOTA, a ten-year public chain veteran) (Background supplement: [Moving block gathering] IOTA 10th anniversary heavy upgrade! Behind the Move VM turn, how to work with the EU, UK and Kenya governments) *This article is widely compiled, written and provided by IOTA, and does not represent the position of the moving area, nor is it investment advice, purchase or sale advice. For details, please refer to the liability warning at the end of the article. Revolutionizing Trade and Supply Chain, IOTA is building the infrastructure for digital trade and finance, aiming to address the global trade finance gap of up to trillions of dollars. IOTA's partnership with Salus brings unprecedented transparency to critical mineral supply chains. Combined with TLIP's trading practices in East Africa and Real's focus on asset tokenization, these initiatives demonstrate how IOTA can replace fragmented, inefficient paper-based operations with a secure digital infrastructure that enables trusted, real-time data and value exchange. Focusing on the critical minerals supply chain, Salus leverages IOTA and TWIN trade data infrastructure to transform traditional paper trade documents into verifiable digital assets. The platform manages the digital identities of supply chain participants through IOTA Identity, tokenizing key trade documents such as warehouse receipts and bills of lading into NFTs and anchored on the IOTA ledger. Tokenization: Unlocking a massive $2.5 trillion market Global trade and industrial processes are still stuck in outdated systems: cumbersome paperwork, siloed databases, slow verification processes, and expensive intermediaries. These inefficiencies not only create risks, impede innovation, but also exclude small and medium-sized enterprises, ultimately leading to a global trade finance gap. According to the latest estimates, this gap is more than $2.5 trillion, which means that there is a huge gap between the funds that companies need to move goods across borders and the financing that banks actually provide. To that end, IOTA is building a radically different solution: an open source digital public infrastructure (digital public infrastructure) that replaces outdated workflows with real-time, immutable data. From supply chain traceability, cross-border coordination to trade finance, IOTA is committed to creating applications that truly align with the global industry operating model. The latest example is the Salus platform, which leverages IOTA and its trade data infrastructure, TWIN, to revolutionize trade finance in key minerals sectors. Salus: Transparent financial services for critical minerals Driven by AI and the green energy transition, demand for key minerals such as copper, lithium, and rare earths is soaring, but the related trade finance model remains stagnant. Payment processing is slow, trust bases are weak, and paper documents pile up. Large banks are becoming more conservative in this area, while smaller, more flexible financiers are deterred by the lack of reliable verification mechanisms. To address this dilemma, Salus transforms fragmented physical data into a clear and auditable digital asset that financiers can trust through real-time cargo tracking and verification. By pioneering new capital channels such as DeFi funds and stablecoin pools, Salus has injected unprecedented transparency, efficiency, and liquidity into this critical, long-constrained industry. Salus was designed to bring sophisticated trade finance methodologies on-chain. As a native Web3 solution, Salus benefits from deep integration with IOTA and the TWIN platform, specifically the three pillars of the TWIN technology stack: digital identity, asset tokenization, and data sovereignty. This shift not only establishes a more reliable system for the cross-market and cross-jurisdictional movement of critical minerals, but also lays the foundation for the automation of trade finance. Digital Identity & Credentials When it comes to global trade finance, "Know Your Counterparty" is critical. Salus works with suppliers, buyers, inspectors and investors, often in different jurisdictions. Therefore, strict compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations is an indispensable prerequisite. A Salus TWIN node integrates with IOTA's infrastructure to enable secure data exchange, smart contract execution, tokenization, and identity management between different stakeholders in the mineral supply chain. Through the TWIN platform, Salus uses IOTA Identity to manage digital identity, not only for all participants in the supply chain, but also for physical objects such as containers and transporters. With features such as decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials, each party in the system can be uniquely identified without relying on any centralized authority. TWIN enables Salus to register these identities and credentials on the IOTA distributed ledger, providing a global, consistent, and tamper-proof digital identity layer for all participants. Tokenizing Trade Documents In addition to identity credentials, key trade documents representing the ownership and origin of key minerals (such as warehouse receipts, bills of lading) are also tokenized (tokenized) and issued as NFTs and anchored on the IOTA distributed ledger. In addition to representing asset ownership, these NFTs can also transmit their related data in TWIN's network of nodes, becoming a shared, authorized-access data space. Whether the node belongs to customs, insurance companies, freight forwarders or mining farms, every participant has direct and secure access to verified documents at any point in the supply chain. This is in line with international digital trade standards, such as the United Nations' Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) (Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records), providing a solid foundation for a seamless flow of documents across jurisdictions. In addition, tokenization opens up new possibilities for decentralized applications (DApps) to process payments directly on-chain through smart contracts and stablecoins. This enables frictionless processing of payments across jurisdictions, eliminating the need for intermediaries and significantly reducing latency and costs. Audit trail and event linking At the heart of Salus' operations is the verification of real-world data claims, such as the contents of a container, its weight or its origin, which is critical. This data is used to secure financing, manage risk, and guarantee ethical sourcing standards. Similarly, it is extremely important to document critical events along the supply chain, such as the arrival of minerals at a certified warehouse, the completion of inspections, and loading to the next means of transport. TWIN provides the necessary technical components to record this data and anchor it on the IOTA mainnet. This creates a tamper-proof audit trail that ties each item to its full journey through the supply chain. Every inspection, movement or status update becomes part of this transparent, traceable record. Manage documents and assets through smart contracts.