POSCO International Trials Blockchain Tokenization of Trade Receivables

POSCO International, South Korea's largest trading company, has launched a pilot to tokenize trade receivables on blockchain, aiming to accelerate payments among its overseas subsidiaries. The company, which posted $22.2 billion in revenue last year across steel, energy and battery materials, is working with LG CNS, LG Group's IT services arm, to issue, transfer and settle receivables on the layer-1 blockchain Injective (INJ), which was trading around $4.9980, the firms said during a press briefing with CoinDesk. The proof-of-concept uses receivables generated from actual cross-border transactions involving POSCO's international operations and their counterparties, rather than mock trades. Trade receivables are amounts due to a seller after goods ship but before payment is received. In conventional workflows, buyers, sellers and banks often keep separate records, and reconciliation can take days before funds are released. POSCO International and LG CNS said recording receivables on a shared blockchain ledger creates a single source of truth that can be transferred and settled, with compliance rules embedded at the asset level. "This PoC is significant in that it validated the applicability of AI and blockchain technology based on real trade data and processes," a POSCO International spokesperson said. The company plans to move the initiative into live production after the pilot concludes later this year. Tokenization efforts have largely focused on funds and equities, with firms such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo, Fidelity, Janus Henderson and Mubadala Capital bringing products onchain to streamline issuance, settlement and collateral management. The tokenized-asset market has expanded to about $35 billion, and Citi estimates it could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. Trade finance is also emerging as a key use case. Tokenized receivables represent real obligations between businesses, potentially improving working-capital efficiency while giving banks and financing partners a shared view of the underlying asset. South Korea has been an active market for corporate blockchain adoption. Earlier this month, Hyundai began using stablecoins for internal treasury transfers between its U.S. and Mexico operations. Stablecoin issuer Circle has also partnered with Kakao Group and Toss Bank to explore stablecoin payment infrastructure. By running the test on Injective, POSCO International and LG CNS are extending this momentum into global trade finance. LG CNS has previously contributed to the Bank of Korea's central bank digital currency pilot and operates tokenization platforms for KOSCOM and Mirae Asset Securities.