Olea Secures $30M Series A to Expand Blockchain-Powered Trade Finance Platform
Singapore-based Olea has raised $30 million in a Series A round co-led by BBVA and SC Ventures, marking a significant step in digitizing one of finance's most opaque sectors. The trade finance platform, incubated by Standard Chartered's innovation arm, will deploy capital toward AI analytics and Web3 integration while expanding into Europe, the Americas, and Asian markets.
The participation of banking heavyweights BBVA and SC Ventures signals institutional confidence in blockchain's potential to transform the $9 trillion trade finance industry. Olea's MAS-licensed platform has already facilitated $3 billion in cross-border transactions across 70+ trade corridors, partnering with 30 institutional funders and 1,000+ corporate clients.
This funding round notably excludes cryptocurrency involvement, focusing instead on enterprise blockchain applications. The absence of digital asset exchanges or tokenization in the capital structure reflects a strategic prioritization of regulatory-compliant infrastructure over speculative crypto elements.