Transfer document title. On-chain.
In seconds.
DocuShield uses ERC-721 Title Escrow smart contracts to enforce legal ownership of transferable trade documents. Endorse, transfer, and surrender, all atomic, immutable, and legally binding.
Under the hood
How Title Escrow works
When an eBL is issued, a deterministic ERC-721 Title Escrow contract is deployed at a unique address derived from the Token Registry address and the document's merkle root. This contract holds two key roles.
The party with economic ownership rights, typically the buyer or bank. The beneficiary can nominate a new beneficiary or surrender the document.
The party with physical possession rights, typically the shipper or freight forwarder. The holder can endorse the document or transfer holdership.
Important:The Token Registry acts as the "carrier" in the ERC-721 sense. When the holder surrenders the eBL, they transfer the token back to the Token Registry, which burns it, confirming the original has been presented exactly once. This prevents double-spending of Bills of Lading.
On-chain Actions
Every transfer event, explained.
Each action is a smart contract call, atomic, irreversible once confirmed, and permanently visible on the XDC block explorer.
Endorse to new beneficiary
Called by: Current beneficiaryChanges the beneficiary address in the Title Escrow. Used when a bank endorses to the buyer, or a buyer endorses to their freight forwarder.
Transfer holdership
Called by: Current holderChanges the holder address. Used to pass physical document custody from shipper to freight forwarder, or from one bank branch to another.
Nominate new beneficiary
Called by: Current beneficiaryTwo-step endorsement, the current holder must also confirm before the change is final. Mirrors the countersignature requirement on traditional BLs.
Surrender to carrier
Called by: HolderThe ERC-721 token is returned to the Token Registry and burnt. The carrier sees the on-chain surrender and releases the cargo. Prevents duplicate presentation.
Reject surrender
Called by: Token Registry (carrier)The carrier can reject a surrender if the document doesn't match the cargo. The token is returned to the holder, no manual intervention needed.
Comparison
Traditional BL vs. DocuShield Title Escrow
Audit Trail
Every transfer. Permanently recorded.
Every on-chain action is logged as a blockchain event, timestamped, immutable, and publicly inspectable. Banks and regulators can verify the complete ownership history of any eBL at any time.
eBL Ownership History
Issuing NVOCC → Exporter Co. (Shipper)
Exporter Co. → Trade Finance Bank (Beneficiary)
Trade Finance Bank → Importer Co. (Holder)
Importer Co. → Token Registry (Carrier)
Ready to move trade forward?
See DocuShield issue an eBL end to end in seconds. We'll walk through your specific document types and integration needs.
Pilot program for freight forwarders · Running on a public test network, mainnet deployment in progress