As digital trade accelerates, platforms, exchanges, and registries are reshaping how receivables, bills of lading, and other assets are financed. But while technology promises frictionless settlement, instant communication, and digital asset creation, a crucial question remains: what legal rights actually arise when transactions move onto these infrastructures?
In their piece, ‘Platforms, exchanges, and registries: Aligning operational and legal aspects’ for Trade Treasury Payments, Marek Dubovec, ILI Director of Law Reform Programs, and Bob Trojan, ILI Senior Advisor, draw on insights from the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Colloquium “Harmonizing law in the age of digital trade and finance” (February 10-13, 2026, New York) to unpack the legal foundations behind digital registries, exchanges, and platforms, and why the distinctions between them matter.
Read the full analysis to explore how law and technology must evolve together to support the next generation of digital trade finance.