Close Menu
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI
  • Apps
  • Crypto
  • Security
  • Startups
  • TechCrunch
  • Venture

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

What's Hot

TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Next Shot in Big

May 31, 2025

Google quietly released an app that allows you to download and run AI models locally

May 31, 2025

The counted conversation begins in 5 days in a TC session: ai

May 31, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI

    OpenAI seeks to extend human lifespans with the help of longevity startups

    January 17, 2025

    Farewell to the $200 million woolly mammoth and TikTok

    January 17, 2025

    Nord Security founder launches Nexos.ai to help enterprises move AI projects from pilot to production

    January 17, 2025

    Data proves it remains difficult for startups to raise capital, even though VCs invested $75 billion in the fourth quarter

    January 16, 2025

    Apple suspends AI notification summaries for news after generating false alerts

    January 16, 2025
  • Apps

    Google quietly released an app that allows you to download and run AI models locally

    May 31, 2025

    A guide to using editing, Meta's new Capcut Rival for Short-Form video editing

    May 31, 2025

    Automattic says it will start contributing to WordPress again after pause

    May 30, 2025

    The last day to vote to destroy the 2025 agenda lineup

    May 30, 2025

    6 days left: Ready for the truth about unfiltered AI in TC sessions: AI?

    May 30, 2025
  • Crypto

    GameStop bought $500 million in Bitcoin

    May 28, 2025

    Vote for the session you want to watch in 2025

    May 26, 2025

    Save $900 + 90% from 2 tickets to destroy 2025 in the last 24 hours

    May 25, 2025

    Only 3 days left to save up to $900 to destroy the 2025 pass

    May 23, 2025

    Starting from up to $900 from Ticep, 90% off +1 in 2025

    May 22, 2025
  • Security

    8 things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group Spyware Litigation

    May 30, 2025

    White House investigates how Trump's chief staff's phone was hacked

    May 30, 2025

    US government sanctions technology company involved in cyber fraud

    May 29, 2025

    Ten years later, the bootstrap Thinkst Canary will reach $20 million ARR without VC funding

    May 29, 2025

    Security Startup Horizon3.AI raises $100 million in new rounds

    May 28, 2025
  • Startups

    7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

    March 24, 2025

    AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

    March 24, 2025

    20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

    March 22, 2025

    Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

    March 21, 2025

    Startup Weekly: Wiz bets paid off at M&A Rich Week

    March 21, 2025
  • TechCrunch

    OpenSea takes a long-term view with a focus on UX despite NFT sales remaining low

    February 8, 2024

    AI will save software companies' growth dreams

    February 8, 2024

    B2B and B2C are not about who buys, but how you sell

    February 5, 2024

    It's time for venture capital to break away from fast fashion

    February 3, 2024

    a16z's Chris Dixon believes it's time to focus on blockchain use cases rather than speculation

    February 2, 2024
  • Venture

    TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Next Shot in Big

    May 31, 2025

    The counted conversation begins in 5 days in a TC session: ai

    May 31, 2025

    TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Test your AI Knowledge

    May 30, 2025

    Most of the exhibit tables left to make a claim at TC at every stage | TechCrunch

    May 30, 2025

    7 days until doors open during session: ai

    May 29, 2025
TechBrunchTechBrunch

Web3 startup aims to change the game in the tariff war

TechBrunchBy TechBrunchApril 3, 20254 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email


With President Donald Trump's latest tariffs announced today, the day he calls “liberation day” – Web3 startups believe they can use their blockchain platform to automatically track tariffs on goods coming and going to the United States. This claim can be bold and is typical of many such bold claims made by other Web3 startups. However, there may be more than just eye contact, as WATR's platforms are already being used to verify products by large mining companies and automakers.

Created by former Shell, BP and JP Morgan executives, the company is led by Mariam Ayati, who leads global origination and investments at Shell Trading, so she needs to know what she's talking about. WATR counts investors from FAR's unnamed crypto VC and commodity executive syndicates like this, but we've seen evidence suggesting that TechCrunch already has millions of dollars of support.

Ayati said over the phone: “We can quickly scale the reported data to the data sold on machines from countless satellites, sensors and open source repositories. This is to see where the product came from. For example, was it transferred from another ship in the ocean?”

An example of a potential player's ears says it's a place where you can pre-check items for a fee before a deal is made.

“Some non-Western governments we spoke to may argue that Western goods traders sometimes claim that the goods they purchase go to Europe, but they are sent to, say, Asian markets,” she said. “And they don't give the original product owner the right cuts, so they make more money on it. With our system, micro-duty is due, even before the money changes hands.

Perhaps the claim is music to Trump's ears, but it certainly could potentially be hit by global trade due to tariff-induced slowdowns. The global commodity industry is already worth $20 trillion, so the interests are clearly high.

WATR's platform uses blockchain-based tools to track products. It employs everything from the distributed ID of the institution to digital fingerprinting of raw materials.

According to Ayati, the goal is to modernize plumbing in the global economy. “This is not a token hype,” she said. “It's about changing how trust, traceability and liquidity work in the real world.”

In 2022, WATR began with a “nutrition label,” which tracks the source of products in terms of regulatory aspects such as CO2 emissions and other ESG considerations.

However, as ESG is no longer preferred, they are switching to sanctions and tariffs to test the source of products using blockchain platforms to ensure that clients have not accidentally stepped over regulatory hurdles before transactions take place.

WATR announced this week its transition to an avalanche blockchain network. Avalanche is a blockchain developed by AVA Labs, which allows companies such as WATR to create so-called “sovereign chains.” In this case, it is tailored to the needs of a particular industry, which is the world of products. Already used by JP Morgan, Citibank and FEMA.

Certainly, this is not the first time that blockchain has been pitched as a fix for commodity transactions.

In the US, The Seam, an agriculture-centric digital exchange, partnered with IBM in 2017 to investigate blockchain-based cotton transactions, targeting the transparency and accountability of the agricultural supply chain.

Then, in 2018, a group of industry giants, including ING, Shell and ABN Amro, supported the Komgo Initiative, a blockchain-based platform aimed at streamlining trade funds for goods. The goal was to reduce fraud and delays by digitizing key documents such as letters of credit and KYC records. Coincidentally, Ayati was also part of that initiative.

But outside of WATR, many of these previous projects have fallen on the roadside.

Comment, Independent Web3 VC Keld van Schreven, founding partner of KR1, told TechCrunch that Watr's plans need to be tested in the market. With world trade. ”

He added that the move to avalanche blockchain “indicates what we're thinking about scalability from the start.” It says this is, as before, an industry adoption that goes beyond the volume of actual transactions and early pilot stages.



Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

GameStop bought $500 million in Bitcoin

May 28, 2025

Vote for the session you want to watch in 2025

May 26, 2025

Save $900 + 90% from 2 tickets to destroy 2025 in the last 24 hours

May 25, 2025

Only 3 days left to save up to $900 to destroy the 2025 pass

May 23, 2025

Starting from up to $900 from Ticep, 90% off +1 in 2025

May 22, 2025

Early savings for 2025 will end on May 25th

May 21, 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Reviews
Editors Picks

7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

March 24, 2025

AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

March 24, 2025

20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

March 22, 2025

Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

March 21, 2025
About Us
About Us

Welcome to Tech Brunch, your go-to destination for cutting-edge insights, news, and analysis in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cryptocurrency, Technology, and Startups. At Tech Brunch, we are passionate about exploring the latest trends, innovations, and developments shaping the future of these dynamic industries.

Our Picks

TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Next Shot in Big

May 31, 2025

Google quietly released an app that allows you to download and run AI models locally

May 31, 2025

The counted conversation begins in 5 days in a TC session: ai

May 31, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

© 2025 TechBrunch. Designed by TechBrunch.
  • Home
  • About Tech Brunch
  • Advertise with Tech Brunch
  • Contact us
  • DMCA Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.