Alibaba’s global business-to-business marketplace is preparing to streamline international transactions by adopting tokenized versions of major currencies, marking a significant step toward blockchain-based settlement in global trade.

Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com, said I'm an interview with CNBC that the platform will begin using tokenized deposits backed by fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar and euro. Developed in partnership with JPMorgan, the technology aims to accelerate payment processing and reduce the layers of intermediaries typically involved in cross-border transactions.