ConsenSys to Build Global Trade Platform for Agribusiness Giants

Published at: Jan. 24, 2020

Covantis, a blockchain initiative backed by global agribusiness giants like Cargill, has selected major Ethereum-focused firm ConsenSys as a technology partner.

Within the partnership, ConsenSys will build an Ethereum-based blockchain platform to digitize the post-trade finance industry and bring efficiencies and cost savings to the international agribusiness supply chain, Covantis said in a Jan. 23 press release.

Four agribusiness giants established the initiative in 2018, while Covantis’ name came out months ago

The concept of Covantis was established in October 2018, when four of the biggest global agribusinesses companies announced a joint initiative to digitize their global shipping transactions using blockchain and artificial intelligence. Covantis’ founding members include Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company, Bunge and Louis Dreyfus Company.

While the companies have been investigating ways to standardize and digitize global agricultural shipping transactions since 2018, the official branding of the project was revealed about two months ago.

On Dec. 4, the founding members announced that their joint effort will be called Covantis, also launching a new website for the initiative, covantis.io. Additionally, the project announced that former ADM president and chief risk officer Stefano Rettore will lead the project as an independent advisor until the initiative has a CEO appointed.

ConsenSys will help to launch the Covantis digital platform in 2020

As the company plans to launch its digital platform in 2020, the recent addition of ConsenSys will apparently accelerate the anticipated launch. Initial focus will be on automating grain and oilseed post-trade execution processes, the press release notes.

ConsenSys will provide Covantis with a number of its enterprise-grade blockchain tools and services, including PegaSys Orchestrate, Kaleido and MythX to build the blockchain network on Ethereum. Specifically, the firm will build a secured platform based on Quorum, a permissioned Ethereum-based blockchain developed by major global financial holdings company JPMorgan.

Rettore highlighted the ConsenSys’ outstanding technology expertise, expressing confidence that the company would be a perfect tech partner for their initiative:

“ConsenSys presented prototypes that demonstrated excellence in its field and has a track record of using blockchain technology to digitize processes in the commodity trade finance industry. We are confident this partnership will allow us to build a first-class product, centered around unparalleled functionality, security and privacy.”

ConsenSys confirmed the news in a Jan. 23 tweet, while Joseph Lubin, Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO, noted that Covantis’ platform is proving the huge potential of blockchain tech:

“The strength of the Covantis initiative’s commitment to leverage innovative, best-in-class technologies to transform global trade operations for agricultural commodities is inspiring. [...] This platform is evidence that blockchain technology has started to deliver on its promise of unlocking value through collaboration and removal of information silos within and across industries.”

Agribusiness is one major direction of blockchain implementations. In late 2019, Big Four audit firm KPMG launched a blockchain-based track and trace platform that is designed to increase transparency and traceability of processes in agriculture and other industries. Previously, Cargill — the United States’s largest privately held company by revenue — invested in digital engineering resources to develop Hyperledger Grid to streamline supply chains by using blockchain technology.

Tags
Blockchain
Ethereum
Supply Chain
Logistics
Consensys
Agriculture
Joseph Lubin
Related Posts
ConsenSys-Associated Agritech Project Covantis Officially Established
Covantis, a blockchain agribusiness initiative backed by major industry company ConsenSys, has taken another step towards transforming global trade and supply chain operations. Backed by global agribusiness giants like Cargill and Bunge, Covantis has been officially established as a legal entity in Geneva after receiving all necessary regulatory approval. First tests are expected to be carried out in May 2020 According to a March 31 announcement, the company is the joint initiative of six founding members: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, COFCO, Louis Dreyfus Company and Glencore Agriculture. While Covantis’s legal entity has been established, the blockchain platform is …
Adoption / March 31, 2020
The Three Cs of Joseph Lubin: Construct, Contribute, ConsenSys
Canadian entrepreneur and software engineer Joseph Lubin helped spearhead the development of the open-source smart contract blockchain platform that came to be known as Ethereum. Lubin has long believed that this technology could serve “as an organizing principle for earth, the world, the planet.” As one of the wealthiest and most influential public figures in the industry, Lubin founded ConsenSys, a company that develops Ethereum-based products and tools to increase adoption of Ethereum applications around the world, taking the view that the decentralized future is already here — just unevenly distributed. Early life and career Joe Lubin was born in …
Blockchain / Feb. 16, 2020
Crypto and Blockchain News From Japan: Oct. 7–13 in Review
Japan, the second-largest source of traffic for global crypto exchanges to date, witnessed a number of industry announcements this week as the country hosted the major blockchain event Devcon 5 from Oct. 8 to Oct. 11. Organized on an annual basis by the Ethereum Foundation, the recent Devcon conference featured leading figures in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, including Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin. Here is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. MakerDAO to launch MCD in November On Oct. 9, Rune Christensen, the CEO of the Maker …
Blockchain / Oct. 13, 2019
ConsenSys Exec: Layoffs Did Not Exceed 13 Percent
Disclaimer: This article previously stated that the layoffs at ConsenSys mainly affected support staff. The company later informed Cointelegraph that technical staff were also affected. Recent layoffs at blockchain software technology company ConsenSys did not exceed 13 percent of staff. The company’s Executive Director of Enterprise and Social Impact Vanessa Grellet spoke to Cointelegraph about the recent developments at the Crypto Finance Conference in Switzerland on Jan. 18. Grellet said that the staff cuts were a “natural movement” and mainly affected support staff. A company spokesperson later told Cointelegraph that all teams were reevaluated including technical and non-technical staff. Grellet …
Blockchain / Jan. 21, 2019
Swiss Food Manufacturer Partners with ETH-based Blockchain Service to Track Tuna Products
A Swiss food manufacturer has become the “first” in Europe to use the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain to track fish products, a press release confirmed Nov. 28. Gustav Gerig AG, which has operated since 1923, partnered with global tuna marketing company Pacifical c.v. to allow clients to certify the origin of its tuna range using blockchain technology. Tins in the range will soon sport a QR code that consumers can scan in order to find out information such as the production date, type of tuna, and even the boat used to catch it. The blockchain implementation is being provided by Thailand-based …
Blockchain / Nov. 28, 2018