CBA and Wells Fargo do first blockchain transaction for bales of cotton

The first blockchain transaction between two major financial institutions has been conducted using the blockchain. 

The transaction was for 88 bales of cotton from Texas to Qingdao, China, using Skuchain's Brackets system. The transaction occurred between the two banks on behalf of their clients. 

The transaction included agreements that can automatically execute specific conditions of itself, known as 'smart contracts' and the Internet of Things. 

The trade was worth $35,000 and took the transactions into the physical realm with a few humble bales of cotton. Once the cotton arrived in China, the payment was released. The transaction was efficient, transparent, and provided higher levels of security for the shipment that was in transit, CBA said. 

Blockchain technology appeared with the controversial - yet genius - introduction of Bitcoin, a purely digital currency unfortunately associated mostly with criminal behaviour because it is entirely off-grid. It doesn't have to be though, with the blockchain technology superseding our old and manual ways by some margin. 

The evolution of the blockchain into mainstream finance will please innovative fintech startups, who have been chomping at the bit to make something come of the blockchain that did not involve drugs, money laundering or anarchists.