The metals and minerals resource trading subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd, has launched a blockchain platform named ECO for precious metals trading.

Developed by Mitsubishi in partnership with the American blockchain company Skuchain, the platform is built on top of Skuchain’s EC3 platform for blockchain-based supply chain management and finance.

According to the official announcement, ECO will ease metal trades between counterparties by generating, managing and executing invoices and trade confirmations. 

For the start, Mitsubishi will only bring its “most valued customers” on the platform but it plans to soon expand and implement ECO to cover a wider portion of its supply chain system. 

Using the ECO platform, trading parties will be able to sign trade documents and upload them on the blockchain. They can then share the signed documents with others in real-time and hide any commercially sensitive information that they do not want to reveal.

The company said it will be adding more features to ECO in the future to solve other crucial supply chain challenges in the metal trading industry.

Mitsubishi Group has been proactive in the blockchain space.  Cointelegraph recently reported that Mitsubishi’s financial subsidiary Mitsubishi UFJ Group, or MUFG, was collaborating with LayerX to promote digitization for companies and government agencies. It was also reported last month that the financial giant is planning to launch its own stablecoin.

Earlier this year, the company was included in the Singapore government’s 16-company alliance to drive trade digitization through the use of blockchain technology.