Olea Secures $30M Series A Funding: BBVA & SC Ventures Back Trade Finance Revolution

Trade finance just got a crypto-powered upgrade—and traditional banks are buying in.

Olea's $30 million Series A, led by BBVA and SC Ventures, signals institutional confidence in blockchain's ability to streamline global trade. The platform cuts through legacy banking red tape, offering near-instant settlement where letters of credit once took weeks.

Why it matters: As supply chains globalize, old-school finance can't keep pace. Olea's solution? A decentralized ledger that bypasses correspondent banking fees—while somehow getting VCs and incumbents to play nice.

The irony? Banks now fund the very technology that could make their trade desks obsolete. But hey, when disruption comes knocking, might as well write the check yourself.

Singapore-based trade finance platform Olea has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round co-led by BBVA and SC Ventures, the venture-building arm of Standard Chartered, the company announced on Tuesday.

The round also saw participation from XDC Network and maritime-focused venture capital firm theDOCK. Funding terms and valuation were not disclosed.

Olea said the capital will be used to invest in AI-driven analytics, Web3 capabilities, and new solutions such as embedded finance, while expanding origination across high-growth markets including Europe, the US, Latin America, and Asia.

BBVA’s participation is expected to support Olea’s expansion into new trade corridors and joint development of digital supply chain and risk analytics solutions. SC Ventures, which incubated Olea, said it continues to explore collaboration opportunities with the company across digital assets and artificial intelligence.

Olea aims to bring trade finance — one of the largest and least transparent credit asset classes — onto institutional-grade blockchain rails to support new investment, settlement, and liquidity models.

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Singapore, Olea operates an MAS-licensed platform and has facilitated more than $3 billion in financing across over 70 trade corridors, working with more than 30 institutional funders and over 1,000 supplier and buyer clients.

The equity raise follows a separate funding facility announced in November 2024 that was arranged by HSBC and Manulife CQS Investment Management.