What are the real-world challenges of implementing NFTs at scale across supply chains? Technology is often only a means to an end and is seldom a silver bullet. There are several real-world issues that can hinder progress with rolling out NFTs and blockchains across supply chains globally. The benefits of digital twins for real-world goods can’t be underestimated. However, today’s supply chains globally are extremely intermediated and run on trust. A farmer in Africa sells their produce to an intermediary as they have for years. This develops a certain amount of trust between the two parties. As a result, resistance …

The future of blockchain-based supply chain? The demand for the blockchain-based supply chain is driven by customers’ need to know the specific source of their items and whether they were made according to ethical standards. Blockchain technology use cases in supply chain management have the potential to address concerns in traditional supply chains, like removing the need to prepare burdensome paperwork. Moreover, a decentralized, immutable record of all transactions and organizations’ digitization of physical assets can make it possible to track products from the manufacturing unit to the delivery destination, enabling a more transparent and visible supply chain. However, the …

Some of the most prominent organizations in the gold industry have joined forces to launch a new “integrity program” that utilizes blockchain technology for supply chain management — a move that’s intended to help market participants verify the authenticity of their bullion. London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council (WGC) announced Monday that they are collaborating to develop an “international system of gold bar integrity, chain of custody and provenance” that’s based on blockchain technology developed by companies aXedras and Peer Ledger. The ledger will be used to register and track gold bars at each stage of …

Supply chain management continues to be an important are of focus and concern for the global economy, especially with the current shipping backlog at major ports across the globe and the dwindling supply of items available on store shelves. Interestingly, OriginTrail (TRAC), a logistics and supply-chain management-focused blockchain protocol, has been gaining traction over the past couple of months and this week the project's TRAC token hit a new all-time high. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show after hitting a low of $0.278 on Aug. 29, the price of TRAC has vaulted 306% to a new record high …

Crypto markets are in an absolute state of euphoria after Bitcoin (BTC) caught a bid and hit a new all-time high at $67,000. Bitcoin's surge to $67,000 also helped to spark double-digit gains for multiple altcoins as the age-old adage of a rising tide lifting all boats appears to be in full effect. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24 hours were OriginTrail (TRAC), Kadena (KDA) and Cartesi (CTSI). OriginTrail makes a move OriginTrail is a protocol that operates on the Ethereum (ETH) network and specializes in harnessing blockchain technology to …

Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) has launched a new blockchain-based platform that could potentially track one-third of shipping containers across the globe. The GSBN was incorporated in March 2021 by eight global national freight maritime cargo companies to build a blockchain platform that digitizes shipping processes, such as document issuance, clearance and logistics data. Members of the Hong-Kong-based nonprofit consortium GSBN are said to “account for one in every three containers handled in the world,” and this may soon be verifiable on the blockchain once the platform is fully utilized. The GSBN announced the launch of the new blockchain platform …

United States aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin has signed an agreement with SyncFab, a Silicon Valley distributed manufacturing platform, to streamline supplier capabilities across Switzerland, offering yet another tangible use case for blockchain technology. Under the new agreement, SyncFab will provide Lockheed Martin with direct access to its parts procurement and supply chain platform, which is built on top of the company's blockchain. The secure supplier intelligence platform connects Original Equipment Manufacturers, or OEMs, to Swissmem members, allowing OEMs to match with suppliers across Switzerland. The platform essentially works as a “matchmaker” between OEMs and subject matter experts, allowing …

As new institutional and retail investors enter the cryptocurrency space on a daily basis, large-cap top performers like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) attract the lion's share of investor's attention as they are the well-known 'secure' blockchain projects. Once these new investors get a taste of the mainstay cryptocurrencies and how to navigate the volatile markets, their attention soon turns to smaller cap coins as they search for the up-and-coming projects that could be the next big thing. Currently, CoinMarketCap shows that there are 8,475 tokens and more are added daily. This makes it difficult to keep up with the …

More than half of companies added to the Forbes Blockchain 50 list for the first time this year are using blockchain to resolve logistical issues faced in their line of business. Eleven of the 21 new entrants added to the annual tally are applying blockchain and DLT-based solutions to problems regarding supply chains, product tracking and shipping information. According to Forbes, “hundreds of sizable companies are now using Bitcoin and its underlying technology to make their operations more efficient.” “Most companies on the Blockchain 50, however, are not Bitcoin speculators but rather are looking to employ the technology underlying the …

SIMBA Chain, a cloud-based smart contract platform, has been tasked with revamping the supply chain of the United States military after it received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Office of Navy Research. The project will be responsible for developing a blockchain-based solution to enable demand sensing for critical military weaponry parts. Demand sensing is a forecasting technique used in supply chain logistics that processes information in real-time to accurately predict demand ahead of time. Work will reportedly focus on constructing a use case centered on the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet — a combat jet which had its first variant …

The World Trade Organization and Trade Finance Global have published their latest taxonomy of blockchain projects in international trade, arranged into what they present as a “periodic table” for the industry. The original rendition of the periodic table was published in winter 2019. Since then, a lot has changed: despite the pandemic, several indicators used in the table show that blockchain trade innovation projects worldwide are reaching ever greater maturity. On a scale of one to five, projects’ maturity was assessed as being 2.3 on average in Dec. 2019. As of this month, the same figure stands at 3.3. To …

One of China’s largest chemical producers has launched a new Blockchain Warehouse Receipt Platform to help the industry combat the rising costs of operations and trade financing. An increased demand for more environmental and safety measures amid the pandemic has further driven costs up in China’s petrochemical trade. Small enterprises were already struggling to meet the credit conditions of financial lenders, as a lack of effective risk control and difficulties in securely tracking transaction processes of bulk commodities have led financial institutions to tighten lending on warehouse financing. Major players in China’s petrochemical trade have now applied blockchain technology to …