International collaboration under IOTA's leadership introduces a blockchain trade project: "Our intention is to simplify and lower costs for nations when engaged in mutual trade"
In a bid to overhaul international trade systems, the IOTA Foundation has teamed up with five international heavyweights to launch the TWIN Foundation. This new initiative is all about making global commerce sustainability, transparent, and inclusive through the use of cutting-edge, decentralized technology.
The TWIN Foundation was born from partnerships with the World Economic Forum, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, TradeMark Africa, the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, and the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade. Their combined expertise and resources will govern the Trade Worldwide Information Network (TWIN), an open-source infrastructure based on IOTA's distributed ledger technology (DLT).
The announcement was made at the AfCFTA Digital Trade Forum in Lusaka, Zambia on May 8, 2025. This move contrasts the recent surge in protectionist trade policies, like U.S. tariffs and economic warfare under the U.S. President Donald Trump. TWIN's goal is to link up global supply chains, rather than split them apart.
Dominik Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of the IOTA Foundation, had this to say when speaking to our website, "We’re putting our money on a future where IOTA is the decentralized, neutral, open, and immutable digital infrastructure that links countries and people worldwide."
Long-standing inefficiencies in international trade are addressed by TWIN, providing governments with smarter border management and private businesses with new efficiencies and digital services. The platform enables real-time, verifiable data exchange across borders and sectors, utilizing a host of advanced tools, such as decentralized identifiers, digital product passports, and self-sovereign identity frameworks.
TWIN is already powering real-world deployments across the globe. These projects include a poultry import pilot from the European Union by the United Kingdom's Cabinet Office, the blockchain-enabled Virtual Watch Tower monitoring hub, and fresh produce tracking between Kenya and the Netherlands via the RESULD project. Such implementations demonstrate just how digital transparency can cut disruptions, ensure product quality, and align with ESG standards.
The TWIN Foundation will be responsible for setting standards, fostering the ecosystem, and ensuring long-term sustainability. At its core is an open-source, neutral, and financial self-sufficient entity.
Schiener added, "Our sole aim is to make it simpler and cheaper for countries to trade with each other, without being bogged down by political agendas. We are going ahead with an economic solution."
As TWIN rolls out to the public, IOTA and its partners envision it as more than just an upgrade to outdated systems. They see it as a blueprint for the future of international trade, with upcoming expansions and a tech deep dive planned later in the month.
With IOTA recently upgrading to the Rebased protocol, Schiener is confident that the platform will be tough enough to handle billions of assets as they get tokenized for trade. Exciting times indeed!
- The TWIN Foundation, a collaboration of international heavyweights and the IOTA Foundation, aims to reinvent global commerce by leveraging IOTA's distributed ledger technology (DLT) and Tron's blockchain.
- In the TWIN network, private businesses can stake their crypto tokens and participate in the decision-making process, brought about through the use of decentralized exchanges (DEX).
- For efficient business operations, TWIN offers a range of advanced tools, such as digital product passports, self-sovereign identity frameworks, and decentralized identifiers, all housed within an open-source ledger.
- To ensure this technology's longevity, the TWIN Foundation will set standards, cultivate the ecosystem, and maintain the infrastructure's financial self-sufficiency.
- The TWIN platform aims to boost financial transparency and align itself with Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards by allowing real-time, verifiable data exchange across borders and sectors.
- The IOTA Foundation, with partners, envisions TWIN as not just an upgrade to current systems but a pioneering model for the future of international finance and business, using technology to create sustainable and inclusive global commerce networks.
