Contour appoints Rahul Bhargava as interim COO

Contour Network has appointed Rahul Bhargava as Interim Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership as the platform advances following its acquisition by XDC Ventures in Q4 2025.

The Contour network has been operational and evolving since its inception in 2017, and today provides its member banks and corporates a robust, blockchain-enabled best practice platform for digitising their Letter of Credit lifecycle.

It has already reduced LC processing times from 5–10 days to hours for these members processing live trades in commodities and manufacturing, demonstrating tangible value to its global banking and corporate clients.

This will remain a core benefit, while providing more optionality and scalability to address the demand from evolving global markets.

He brings experience in cross-border financial systems, interoperability frameworks, and industry standards including ISO 20022.

His background includes work with banks, regulators, multilateral institutions, and payment infrastructures, positioning him to support Contour’s operational and strategic development while maintaining regulatory alignment.

Ritesh Kakkad, Co-Founder of XDC Network and XDC Ventures, said:
“Rahul’s experience across financial infrastructure and digital networks aligns with our objective of strengthening trade digitisation and settlement capabilities. Through Contour, we aim to support compliant solutions that connect trade processes with expanded settlement options.”

On the strategic significance of the appointment, Rahul Bhargava said “I am excited to join Contour at this pivotal moment in Trade Finance evolution. By vertically scaling up Contour's proven Trade digitisation services portfolio and horizontally extending to combine XDC Network capabilities we aim to deliver a  future-ready, scalable platform helping streamline trade to settlement. A Stablecoin Lab will also be available to trial USDC based settlement models.”

As Interim COO, Bhargava will lead operational scale-up, deepen global member engagement, expand network participation, and oversee integration of XDC’s trade, digital asset and settlement capabilities.

This includes advancing Contour’s Stablecoin Lab as a structured innovation environment to trial regulated, production-ready digital settlement models alongside fiat rails.

About Contour Network

Contour Network is a Singapore-headquartered digital trade-finance platform that digitizes letters of credit (LCs) and cross-border trade documentation. The platform is designed to support efficiency and transparency in international trade workflows.

About XDC Network

XDC Network is an open-source, EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain focused on payments, trade finance and real-world assets.

The network supports interoperability with financial messaging systems through ISO 20022 compatibility and facilitates trade documentation verification, settlement options, and digital asset applications.

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