Bahrain's Kanoo Family Aims to Bring the $6 Trillion Trade Market onto Blockchain

ChainCatcher reports that Abdulla Kanoo, heir to the Bahraini billionaire Kanoo family, is spearheading the migration of a $6 trillion cross-border trade market onto blockchain infrastructure. Current cross-border payments still heavily rely on the traditional correspondent banking system, resulting in lengthy settlement cycles, limited liquidity, and unequal access to U.S. dollars. Kanoo states that ARP Digital, the digital asset infrastructure company he co-founded, is building a settlement network designed to facilitate fund flows between emerging economies, aiming to reduce cross-border payment costs and dependency on intermediaries while accelerating trade finance flows in the Global South. According to his estimates, trade volume between emerging markets exceeded $6 trillion in 2024, accounting for approximately one-quarter of global trade, and is projected to grow to $32 trillion by 2030.