The Spanish Red Cross (Creu Roja) has officially launched RedChain, a novel digital aid distribution platform built on blockchain technology. The system is designed to provide donors with complete financial transparency and traceability while rigorously protecting the privacy and dignity of aid recipients by keeping all personal data off the public ledger.
Developed in collaboration with Barcelona-based infrastructure company BLOOCK and zero-knowledge credential firm Billions Network (formerly Polygon ID), the platform digitizes the entire aid lifecycle. It replaces traditional paper-based workflows and prepaid cards with a digital system where aid is distributed as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum smart contracts, written in Solidity.
Recipients receive these digital aid credits directly into a personal mobile wallet built with Ionic, requiring no bank account or credit history. The credits are spent via QR codes at authorized local merchants in transactions that are indistinguishable from normal purchases. Crucially, the platform's architecture ensures that "no personal data ever touches the public blockchain." All recipient information and spending data remain off-chain in the Red Cross's controlled systems, with only corresponding verification hashes stored on-chain.
Francisco López Romero, CTO at Creu Roja Catalunya, emphasized the platform's core philosophy: "people seeking assistance shouldn’t have to choose between getting help and protecting their privacy." The system allows donors to verify their contributions made a real impact while enabling beneficiaries to access support "without fear of being tracked, profiled, or stigmatized."
Evin McMullen, CEO of Billions Network, described it as a credential system, not a surveillance one, where recipients own and control their proof of eligibility. Lluís Llibre, CEO of BLOOCK, stated the platform's principle is that "blockchain should certify truth, not store content." The announcement noted the BLOOCK platform has already processed over 952,000 cryptographic transactions and 257,000 data validations.
The next phase involves the progressive implementation of RedChain across the organization's aid programs, with close monitoring of adoption and usability.
