we.trade Co-founder Quits, Reveals Blockchain Doubts

Roberto Mancone, co-founder and chief operating officer of blockchain trade finance platform we.trade, is leaving the company and revealing his doubts about blockchain technology’s promises to transform the industry.

Reports in CoinDesk on Monday (April 29) said Mancone announced his departure from we.trade, noting that he is proud of the time he spent with the company, but will move on to explore “the next steps” of blockchain’s disruption in trade finance and other industries.

In remarks to the publication, Mancone also revealed a sentiment of doubt over blockchain’s current impact on the space. “I have not yet seen something that shows the ultimate benefit of the technology,” he said. “We are building solutions that are perceived as valuable by the providers of the solutions, not the users.”

The we.trade platform has captured attention as one of the first blockchain initiatives to see a full-scale launch in the trade finance market. Since then, 14 banks have joined its platform, according to reports.

FIs’ gradual exploration and adoption of blockchain is proof to many industry players that blockchain will prove to be as disruptive and transformative as it promises to be.

“I admire the courage of the banks for entering into something so innovative in a highly regulated market,” Mancone said of the space’s evolution and blockchain disruption in recent years. Yet that collaborative approach to the market means the underlying business model of trade finance remains the same.

“For me, that was step one,” he told the publication. “I can see how this technology can change the business model, but to do that you need the stakeholders to come from different industries, not the same industry. That way it will be the final consumer (company or corporate) that reaps the rewards, rather than a group of incumbents.”

According to reports, Ciaran McGowan will replace Mancone and obtain the title of general manager.