Web3 Protocol Polytrade Raises $3.8M to Improve Global Trade

Polytrade, a Web3 protocol focused on global trading, has raised $3.8 million in a seed round led by Alpha Wave, Matrix Partners, Polygon Ventures and CoinSwitch Ventures, startup TechCrunch exclusively announced with.

Other investors include Singularity Ventures and GTM Ventures. The company was previously supported by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and QuickSwap co-founder Sameep Singhania, among others.

The protocol aims to streamline supply chains through real-time data, Polytrade founder and CEO Piyush Gupta told TechCrunch.

“The biggest challenge in the global supply chain is the lack of transparency,” Gupta said. “The manual processes, the paperwork; You would be surprised if you submit any document to any bank in India. You will still be asked to sign the document with an ink-based signature […] it is a lot of manual labor.”

Among the first modules is a financing arm that brings real returns to web3. The aim of the platform is to give small and medium-sized companies as well as large corporations access to working capital financing and invoices. The platform has received about 2 million bills so far, Gupta said.

In 2023, the company expects its trade finance book volume to reach $50 million, he said. Next year, it envisages $200 million in liquidity in its lending protocol, and the total trading ecosystem volume should surpass $1 billion, he added.

While the platform is open to the retail market, its primary focus is on institutional players as they are more long-term oriented, Gupta said. The company also wants to expand into Latin American, US and European markets, Gupta said.

Polytrade plans to continue “building different models to bring the entire trade supply system onto the blockchain,” he added.

“My sole focus is to bring every single trade document, trade financial player and trade counterparty on-chain so anyone can go to a blockchain site and know everything about a specific buyer or supplier.”