Good morning, Hubertus, and welcome to Commodity Conversations. Could you first describe your background and what led you to develop Bitcredit?
I began my career at Citibank International, initially on the operational side, working with bills of exchange for Austrian exporters selling into a range of international markets. That experience proved important later, as the bill of exchange sits at the centre of what we are trying to do with Bitcredit.
I then moved into Citibank’s technology group, worked internationally, and led the development of their securities systems for smaller and medium-sized markets. After completing an MBA in Barcelona, I worked in investment banking, including at Jefferies in London, and later became managing director of the telecoms and IT practice at Creditanstalt in Vienna. I later founded Erste Bank’s online brokerage.
A former investment-banking client later asked me to turn around a loss-making Austrian telecoms company. We returned it to profitability within six months and sold it several years later to Deutsche Telekom. Since then, I have remained an entrepreneur. I also founded Redmonitor, a digital options exchange, which CMC Markets later acquired.
My interest in Bitcoin began in the early 2010s. As a banker and economist, I saw its potential to address structural problems in finance. At the same time, I concluded that Bitcoin lacked a commercial credit layer. That led to the question: could the electronic bill of exchange on Bitcoin rails solve this?
What is Bitcredit, and what problem in commodity trade finance is it intended to address?
Bitcredit is a new, open-source system for creating and circulating e-cash based on electronic bills of exchange on the Bitcoin network. Its central proposition is that trade finance can be made more direct: the underlying commercial transaction between buyer and seller can underpin credit, rather than requiring a bank’s balance sheet.
The starting point is the familiar problem faced by many commodity-producing countries and smaller exporters. A producer may have a buyer willing to pay in 30, 60 or 90 days. Extending credit can help the exporter reach more buyers and secure better terms, but the exporter may lack the working capital to wait for payment.
Traditionally, exporters could discount a bill of exchange to obtain liquidity before maturity. Bitcredit seeks to replicate that mechanism electronically, without requiring the same conventional banking intermediation. In our view, the system is particularly relevant where correspondent banks have withdrawn, local financial institutions have limited capacity, or trade is constrained by the availability and cost of bank credit.
The aim is not to replace the commercial skills required in commodity trading. Credit assessment, counterparty knowledge and control of the goods remain essential. Rather, it provides a new way to issue, transfer, and finance credit arising from genuine trade.
How could a coffee exporter, cocoa trader, sugar mill or grain cooperative use the system in practice?
Consider a coffee exporter who sells to an importer on 90-day terms. The importer signs a bill of exchange, committing to pay at maturity. The exporter then holds a claim against the importer—but may not want to wait 90 days for cash.
Under Bitcredit, an electronic bill can be sent to a Wildcat Mint, which cryptographically converts it into divisible, transferable units, called “e-cash.” These bearer-like e-cash proofs can then be transferred electronically to other parties. In principle, the exporter can use this liquidity to pay suppliers, rather than financing the waiting period from own equity or a bank credit line, while the original bill remains payable at maturity.
The idea is that the value of a real trade transaction can circulate through the supply chain. An exporter who has sold goods on credit can obtain liquidity; suppliers can be paid; and those suppliers can, in turn, use the instruments they receive. In this sense, we describe trade finance as self-liquidating: the payment obligation is ultimately settled against the trade proceeds.
The system is designed to be open source and peer-to-peer. Electronic e-cash proofs may be transmitted via standard digital channels, including email, messaging apps or SMS. A recipient can validate and reissue them through another mint, with the protocol preventing double spending.
What role does the electronic bill of exchange play?
The bill of exchange is the key instrument. It has served trade for centuries and provides a legal and commercial framework that traders understand. In electronic form, it can serve as the basis for creating transferable claims linked to a defined payment obligation.
The key point is that a bill of exchange separates the negotiable payment obligation from the underlying transaction. Once properly issued and negotiated, the holder deals with the instrument itself. That abstraction is one reason bills of exchange have historically been so useful in commerce.
Electronic trade documents are increasingly recognised in law, based on the UN’s MLETR model-law framework. We believe a digital bill of exchange, combined with a Bitcoin-based settlement mechanism, can revive a useful form of merchant credit within a modern, open system.
In the Bitcredit model, the bill is not merely an electronically stored document. It generates transferable cryptographic claims. At maturity, you can direct payment to one or more designated Bitcoin addresses.
What is a Wildcat Mint, and who can operate one?
A Wildcat Mint is a participant-operated service that handles the cryptographic conversion and validation of claims based on electronic bills of exchange. It can split a bill into smaller, transferable units and verify whether a unit presented for transfer is valid and has not already been spent.
The code is free and open source. In principle, anyone with the necessary capability can operate a mint. In practice, someone operating a mint for commodity trade must understand the trade itself: the product, counterparties, documentation, payment terms and risks.
Mints might develop by commodity, geography or trade corridor. One may specialise in cocoa, coffee, cotton or dairy; another might focus on a specific producing country or a particular export route. Over time, we expect participants to identify areas where conventional finance is unavailable, expensive or poorly suited to the transaction.
The system can improve record-keeping for electronic bills and make certain forms of abuse easier to detect. However, it does not eliminate commercial judgement. The operator and users remain responsible for understanding the credit and transaction risks they accept. (1)
Does the system solve the principal risks in commodity trading—fraud, goods existence, document authenticity and counterparty credit?
No. It is important to be clear about this. Bitcredit does not remove the basic risks of commodity trade. It cannot, by itself, establish that goods are in a warehouse, meet contract specifications, are not fictitious, or that an obligor will ultimately honour a payment obligation.
Those issues require conventional trade expertise, due diligence, inspection, warehouse controls and knowledge of counterparties. You still need boots on the ground. Without reliable visibility into a warehouse, you cannot be certain what happened to the goods.
The system can improve the integrity and traceability of certain payment and documentation processes. Bitcoin’s blockchain can provide a durable, timestamped record of information that participants choose to record on it. We are also developing extensions to record contractual commitments and performance history. This may help build a verifiable record of whether parties have honoured their obligations.
But the electronic bill of exchange remains an abstraction from the underlying goods. The protocol addresses the transfer and settlement of the payment obligation. It should be used alongside—not instead of—surveyors, inspectors, warehouse keepers, collateral managers and robust credit processes.
So Bitcredit can work alongside warehouse inspection, trade data, AI credit, or verification providers?
Yes. That is one advantage of an open-source approach. Bitcredit is not trying to be a closed software company that controls every component of a trade-finance workflow. The protocol can be used alongside other services that address specific risks.
For example, we have been speaking with people developing AI-based credit assessment tools. There are also initiatives to create better cryptographic or digital evidence for warehouse stocks and the movement of goods. These tools could complement Bitcredit’s payment and credit functionality.
Each specialist must remain responsible for its own contribution. A warehouse-observation provider should ensure the quality of its evidence; a credit-information provider should stand behind its analysis; and a trader or mint operator must still decide which risk is acceptable. The protocol aims to enable collaboration without requiring permission from a central platform owner.
Why has Bitcoin not already become a mainstream commodity-trading payment method?
The principal reason is volatility. For a trader, exporter, or producer, the currency used for invoicing, working capital, and payroll must be sufficiently stable. Bitcoin has not yet met that requirement for most commodity-trading uses.
Bitcoin, however, has properties that some users value: it can provide final settlement, can be transferred internationally, and is not issued by a state or a commercial bank. In our view, what has been missing is a credit layer comparable to the historical role of banknotes and bills of exchange in a gold-based monetary system.
Our argument is that if Bitcoin is increasingly used in genuine production and trade, and if electronic bills of exchange can circulate as credit instruments redeemable at maturity, this could contribute to greater stability over time. That is a proposition rather than an established outcome; initially, price volatility remains a major obstacle to broad adoption in commodity trade for traders who are unfamiliar with hedging instruments.
The practical question is whether Bitcoin-based credit can serve niches where conventional payment and trade-finance infrastructure is weak, costly or unavailable, provided participants manage the associated currency and compliance risks appropriately. (2)
How does Bitcredit compare with dollar stablecoins for trade settlement and for working capital?
The next version of Bitcredit, expected in early 2027, will allow dollar-denominated bills and e-cash, representing a new type of stablecoin backed by self-liquidating commercial bills instead of T-bills.
Until then, traditional dollar stablecoins may be more practical when traders primarily need a stable value against the dollar. This matters to producers who pay workers, suppliers and local expenses in dollars or dollar-linked currencies.
Our concern is that stablecoins remain dependent on the issuer, the banking system and the relevant legal and political environment. Issuers may be required to freeze transactions or wallets, and the instrument remains exposed to the reference currency’s monetary and regulatory framework. For some users, particularly in difficult jurisdictions or where banking access is limited, this may matter.
Bitcredit takes a different approach. It seeks to combine Bitcoin’s settlement properties with a credit system based on electronic bills of exchange. It is not a claim that Bitcoin is currently superior to stablecoins for all trade. A more realistic view is that stablecoins may be the preferred option where dollar stability is paramount, while a Bitcoin-based system may appeal where participants place greater weight on direct settlement, open infrastructure and independence from a particular issuer.
All users must remain compliant with the laws, regulations and sanctions requirements applicable to them. Bitcredit is a protocol; it does not endorse using technology to avoid legal obligations.
What would success look like, and where are you seeking early use cases? (3)
Success would mean that real trade can finance itself more effectively. Consider an exporter in a capital-constrained market who receives an electronic bill of exchange from a buyer, draws liquidity against it, and then uses that liquidity to pay suppliers. The suppliers can, in turn, use the instrument within the supply chain. The transaction is financed by the value of moving goods rather than by an external bank balance sheet.
We would like to speak with businesses affected by the trade-finance gap: exporters, traders, cooperatives and supply-chain participants that face high capital requirements, weak local banking infrastructure, or constraints related to correspondent-bank withdrawal or payments. Initial use cases could emerge in coffee, cocoa, dairy, cotton and other agricultural commodities, but the model is not limited to those sectors.
Adoption will need to begin on a modest scale and alongside existing systems. Conventional currencies and bank finance will not disappear overnight. The immediate objective is to identify commercial niches where an electronic bill-of-exchange system can help parties complete sound, profitable and properly controlled trade that would otherwise be constrained by the cost or unavailability of conventional finance.
For Bitcredit, the central test is practical: can it help traders secure better terms, use less capital, and complete profitable transactions otherwise constrained by the cost or availability of bank finance, while upholding the discipline, due diligence, and commercial responsibility that commodity trading requires? (4)
Thank you, Hubertus, for your time and input.
Notes:
(1) Because no bank is involved, Mints assesses risk using real trade data (shipping records, past sales, customs history), credit bureaus and its on-chain “reputation” system: businesses that pay on time build a public track record, and other companies can vouch for trading partners they trust. This reputation determines how much credit a business can access and at what cost.
(2) Because farmers, workers, and many local suppliers can’t or won’t accept crypto, eCash can be converted back into local currency by converting to Bitcoin and cashing out through a licensed local crypto broker.
(3) Bitcredit raised a pre-seed round of about €6.7 million (~$7.5 million) to build a production-ready version of the platform, develop AI-assisted onboarding, and pilot real-world trade routes — with an initial focus on cacao, coffee and soft commodities.
(4) The bottom line is that Bitcredit aims to enable small exporters and importers to finance trade as large corporations already do with bills of exchange — but running entirely on Bitcoin rails rather than the banking system. The pitch is faster payments, no bank intermediaries, and freedom from stablecoin-issuer risks, in exchange for reliance on a newer, less-tested legal and technical infrastructure.
©Commodity Conversations® 2026