> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://bitcredit.gitbook.io/bitcredit-protocol/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://bitcredit.gitbook.io/bitcredit-protocol/bitcredit-protocol.md).

# Bitcredit Protocol

### What is Bitcredit? <a href="#what-is-bitcredit" id="what-is-bitcredit"></a>

Bitcredit is a Bitcoin-native trade finance protocol that addresses the estimated $2.5T global trade finance gap, where banking restrictions, fiat currency squeezes, over-regulation, and geopolitics are increasingly constraining international trade credit and liquidity for SMEs in global supply chains.

Businesses issue electronic bills of exchange (eBills) backed by real goods. Mints split those eBills into non-custodial digital cash (eCash), creating a self-regulating liquidity supply that grows and shrinks in lockstep with real trade activity. Trade credit is issued, transferred, and settled directly between businesses, without banks, without intermediaries, and without a bank balance sheet.

Money is an estimated $70–80T opportunity, currently dominated by nationalized central banks. Bitcredit opens that opportunity to private trade, settled on Bitcoin rails.

### Why Bitcredit? <a href="#why-bitcredit" id="why-bitcredit"></a>

So far, Bitcoin's use as a currency has been hampered by two main issues:

* **Volatility**: Commerce and everyday use needs a stable currency.
* **Fixed supply**: Modern economies need monetary elasticity for trade and industry.

Bitcredit resolves both by adding:

* A decentralised network of non-custodial eCash mints ("Wildcats").
* Real-value backing by short-term commercial eBills for goods and services.
* The $e-IOU token as verifiable guarantee asset for credit enhancement.
* Finality on Bitcoin mainchain, ensuring integrity and verifiable redemption.