A short story you can trace
Picture a single order: a buyer in Germany ordering 40 containers of medical gloves from a manufacturer in Malaysia. On a conventional rail, that order generates 14+ documents, three or four banks, two inspection agencies, a freight forwarder, customs brokers in two jurisdictions, and a 60-to-90-day payment cycle that runs on faith.
On EDMA, the same order runs as a sequence of verified events. Each event is a milestone. Each milestone has a clear evidence checklist agreed up front. Each successful evidence pass triggers a state change on-chain, and on the cash leg, an unlock of stablecoin (EDSD) into the supplier's account.
How an order flows
- 01
Ask once
The buyer posts the spec and the evidence they'll accept at each stage. Suppliers bid; the buyer awards one Master Purchase Agreement (MPA) with a plain-language checklist and a payout schedule (e.g. 20/60/20).
- 02
Fund smart
The buyer prefunds the first milestone plus the protocol fee. Cash is converted to Locked EDSD by supplier and stage. Production starts. Once the production milestone passes, the Pre-Ship EMT mints and the buyer must top up the remaining milestones before shipping, no funding, no shipping.
- 03
Milestones and releases
Inspection passes → an inspection EMT mints → the corresponding slice of EDSD unlocks. Loading passes (sealed photos + packing list) → loading EMT mints → next slice unlocks. Customs cleared → customs EMT mints → next slice unlocks. Receipt confirmed → final EMT mints → final slice unlocks.
- 04
Exceptions handled in-place
If something's off, say the seal number doesn't match the packing list, only that slice pauses. Other lots keep moving. EDMA opens a case, the exception is logged, the fix path is shown, and the contract's variance math applies. Paid slices stay paid.
- 05
Settle and burn
Each settlement triggers the protocol fee (Trade: 0.5% per tranche, with $5k/$12.5k/$25k caps by deal size). 50% of every fee is burned in EDM automatically and the burn hash appears on the receipt. 50% goes to treasury under published bounds.
The instruments
EDSD
The on-platform settlement stable. Buyer funds become Locked EDSD by supplier and stage; releases create Unlocked EDSD. Replaces Letters of Credit.
EMT
The EDMA Milestone Token. One EMT mints per verified milestone (production, inspection, loading, customs, receipt). Carries the PoV hash and the stage metadata.
EDM
The fee, burn, and governance token. Gas is auto-paid in EDM or EDSD via the Paymaster (users don't need ETH). 50% of every protocol fee burns at settlement.
What governance can and cannot touch
- Adjustable (with 72h timelock + public diffs)Milestone templates, evidence checklists, buyer review windows, top-up deadlines, tolerance bands, attestor SLAs, treasury split, all inside published bounds.
- UntouchableNo EMT, no funds. One-Claim exclusivity. Must-fund before shipping. Locked → Unlocked only on verified proof. These are the brakes the protocol cannot disable.
