dexFreight, a Fintech-enabled logistics market network driven by smart contracts, has been awarded a USPTO patent, which will allow real-world asset-collateralized NFTs to be introduced into the Rootstock DeFi ecosystem.
DexFreight received a USPTO patent on March 28, 2023 (Patent No.: US 11615375 B2) for its novel approach to electronic supply chain factoring management with shared state storage on a distributed ledger. While it is intended for this technology to be open source, the patent guards against spurious claims from patent trolls that would inhibit adoption and gives huge logistical firms the confidence they need to test this innovative technology.
DexFreight teamed up with Centrifuge and MakerDAO in an effort to create NFTs from freight invoices to use them as collateral for accessing liquidity and filling short-term funding gaps for trucking companies after completing the first truckload transaction using smart contracts running on Rootstock back in October 2018. A patent application was submitted to the US Patent Office after the trial was completed successfully with the assistance of the Rootstock DeFi ecosystem protocols, including Money on Chain and Sovryn, and it has since been approved.
By linking DeFi protocols to actual collateral, it is possible to build a new asset class that has attributes that major institutional investors find attractive. This asset class has the potential to spur widespread adoption and have an influence on global trade. The Rootstock ecosystem will profit from billions of dollars in real-world collateral, while DeFi liquidity providers will have access to reliable returns from real-world transactions.
All companies engaged in the manufacture and delivery of products depend on the multibillion-dollar supply chain management sector. Many supply chain participants utilize factoring as a finance solution to pay for their immediate costs throughout this cash flow-intensive operation. A distributed ledger system may be used to convert supply chain invoices into digital tokens thanks to a new technology created by dexFreight. These tokens may be used in an automated manner to get liquidity from decentralized pools. As an alternative to conventional factoring, this leads to faster transactions and cheaper finance charges for users.
Rajat Rajbhandari, CIO/CTO and co-founder of dexFreight commented: “This patent represents an exciting opportunity to bring DeFi to the supply chain industry on a global scale. With this patent, dexFreight aims to facilitate lower-cost access to liquidity for small and medium size trucking companies in the US and abroad. For instance, in the trucking industry, drivers often have to wait for 30-45 days to receive payment for delivering a load. dexFreight’s innovative solution will usher in a new era of cheaper, faster, auditable, and traceable transactions in the supply chain industry.”
Hector Hernandez, CSO and co-founder of dexFreight added: “This patent is the outcome of the hard work of the dexFreight team and their close collaboration with other teams in the DeFi industry. It also confirms how beneficial DeFi can be in addressing some of the most intricate challenges in trade finance. Additionally, it indicates to DeFi enthusiasts, developers, and investors how significant this technology can be for actual business transactions.”
Diego Gutiérrez Zaldívar, CEO of IOVlabs and Rootstock Co-Founder commented: “This innovative patent for tokenizing the multi billion dollar freight industry creates an opportunity for enhanced liquidity and new investors to join Rootstock. dexFreight has been leveraging the power of smart contracts on Bitcoin since 2018, it’s great to see the team adding further value to the ecosystem and protecting the principles of decentralisation by making the patent open.”
