Recently in Hong Kong, Pharos Network, a Layer 1 infrastructure built for RealFi, and Kun KUN, a trusted industry expert in digital payments, announced the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The two parties will deeply integrate Pharos’s institutional-grade blockchain backbone with Kun KUN’s globally compliant, licensed payment infrastructure to jointly advance the tokenization of supply chain credit assets and enable more efficient global settlements on a blockchain-based rail.
Industry context: Solving the liquidity challenges faced by outbound enterprises
Currently, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting globally, particularly in emerging markets, face significant working capital challenges. Restricted by the cumbersome processes, high costs, and fragmented services of traditional trade finance systems, suppliers typically must wait 30 to 90 days after delivering goods to receive payment, a liquidity strain that limits business expansion. Although RWA (real-world asset) tokenization has become an industry hotspot, the market has largely focused on passive financial products, with few projects effectively connecting underlying infrastructure to real commercial activities and licensed payment distribution networks.
Solution: Deep integration of licensed payment rails with RealFi infrastructure
The partnership between Pharos Network and Kun KUN aims to bridge this gap by bringing supply chain credit and B2B cross-border payments on-chain in a compliant and scalable manner. The initial strategic focus of both parties will include:
- Tokenization of supply chain credit assets: unlocks asset liquidity and enhances corporate working capital efficiency;
- Native on-chain settlement for digital assets: Leveraging blockchain lanes to reduce cross-chain settlement friction;
- Enterprise-grade virtual card solution: Explore more flexible corporate fund usage scenarios;
- Contextual on-chain financial services: Providing compliant on-chain financial services for vertical use cases such as commodities, general trade, B2B cross-border e-commerce, service trade, Web3 ecosystems, and AI applications.
Wish Wu, Co-founder and CEO of Pharos Network, said: “Kun KUN has built a trusted, globally licensed payment network deeply serving emerging markets. Their expertise in cross-border digital payments perfectly aligns with Pharos’s vision of creating an inclusive RealFi settlement layer. Together, we will bring supply chain assets and cross-border cash flows on-chain in a compliant and accessible manner.”
Dr. Louis Liu, Founder and CEO of KUN, said: “Settlement finality is the last mile of RealFi. By bridging KUN’s compliant payment rails with Pharos’s high-performance underlying architecture, we enable businesses to efficiently convert on-chain assets into the tangible liquidity required by the real economy, while delivering institutional-grade trust. In the future, we will also explore leveraging AI-driven intelligent orchestration to further optimize global commercial cash flows and enhance settlement efficiency in emerging markets.”
The Pharos mainnet has officially launched, with over 50 dApps actively running within the ecosystem. This collaboration with Kun KUN will further solidify Pharos’s position as an industry-leading RealFi infrastructure by connecting licensed payment systems with on-chain financial markets.
About Pharos Network
Pharos Network is a Layer 1 infrastructure designed for real-world finance, enabling seamless circulation between on-chain assets and institutional-grade assets. Leveraging a modular architecture and deep parallel execution technology, combined with built-in compliance modules, Pharos aims to build the next-generation infrastructure for global finance. Pharos is developed by a top-tier team from Ant Group and is backed by globally renowned investment institutions including subsidiaries of Sumitomo Corporation, Hack VC, and Faction VC.
Pharos is launching a $10 million "Native to Pharos" builder incubation program, currently recruiting early-stage teams and builders focused on cutting-edge areas such as RWA, DeFi, and prediction markets, as well as developers dedicated to the Pharos ecosystem. Selected participants will receive technical guidance, AI developer tools, and ecosystem support from Pharos, along with backing from institutional partners including Hack VC, Draper Dragon, Lightspeed Faction, and Centrifuge.
About KuCoin
Kun KUN is an innovative technology group centered on digital payments and embedded financial services, built on a global licensing and compliance risk management framework that connects emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond. Positioned as a trusted industry expert in digital payments, the group’s business spans four core areas: cross-border digital payments, on-chain finance, enterprise card issuance, and AI-powered payment agents. By deeply integrating artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies, Kun KUN delivers secure, compliant, and efficient end-to-end digital payment and transaction solutions for use cases including commodities trading, general trade, B2B cross-border e-commerce, service trade, Web3 ecosystems, and AI applications—building a powerful engine to empower global business expansion for enterprises.