The World Economic Forum is progressing with its blockchain-based project tracking of greenhouse gas emissions. According to a Dec. 15 announcement, the WEF’s Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative, or MMBI, has released a proof-of-concept to trace carbon emissions for mining and metals firms. The initiative is a collaboration between the WEF and seven industry companies: Anglo American, Antofagasta Minerals, Eurasian Resources Group, Glencore, Klöckner & Co, Minsur, and Tata Steel. The project was initially announced in October 2019, aiming to build responsible sourcing and sustainability practices using blockchain. The initiative aims to accelerate an industry solution for supply chain visibility …

To date, the ever-evolving DLT landscape has brought about dramatic changes to the world of finance and businesses in multiple industries. While blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology, there are various other applications that have emerged since the advent of Bitcoin (BTC) over a decade ago. What makes DLTs special is their capacity to cut out intermediaries in most supply chains while making it possible for stakeholders to collaborate autonomously without the need for a centralized authority figure. As the world continues to digitize its traditional workflow processes, the significance of DLTs increases. Now, DLTs, in combination with …

An IBM blockchain-powered platform is now offering a way for people to track wine from its vineyard origins all the way to your local store shelf. In an announcement today, IBM said it has partnered with wine monitoring firm eProvenance to release the VinAssure platform. Built on IBM Blockchain Transparent Supply, VinAssure will reportedly run on IBM Cloud and allow wine producers, importers, transporters, distributors, restaurants, retailers, and others to track the supply chain of bottles “through a permissioned, permanent and shared record of data.” VinAssure’s members include North Carolina-based wine importer De Maison Selections, which reports $22 million in …

Singapore’s burgeoning blockchain industry has identified asset tracking and traceability as the top use case for distributed ledger technology, underscoring the need for better supply chain management in a post-pandemic world. The findings were presented Monday in the "2020 Singapore Blockchain Ecosystem Report" by PwC in collaboration with OpenNodes, IBM, Ernst & Young and others. The report, which is based on a July survey of industry players, “gives a qualitative overview of the key developments and trends in Singapore’s blockchain ecosystem.” When asked about the various applications of blockchain technology, 52% of respondents identified asset tracking and traceability — more …

IBM’s foray into the blockchain ecosystem is deepening with a new partnership to track supply chains in the textile and fashion industries. The Armonk, New York-based tech giant announced Monday that it’s teaming up with German textile manufacturer Kaya&Kato to develop a blockchain network that tracks the origin of fabrics used in the fashion industry. The new application will allow Kaya&Kato’s suppliers and customers to identify where their fabrics are processed, as well as understand each step of the production and distribution processes. IBM said: “The network is designed to create transparency about the origin of garments, from the fiber …

The price of VeChain (VET) extended its rally on Wednesday, building off a solid week of gains following discussions with Chinese government officials centered on a post-epidemic health response. VeChain rose 2% on Wednesday to reach $0.011669, according to CoinMarketCap. Over the past seven days, the supply-chain management cryptocurrency is up over 23%. Only two other top-30 coins -- NEM (XEM) and Chainlink (LINK) -- have outperformed VET over the past seven days. At current values, VeChain has a market capitalization of $751 million. The cryptocurrency’s uptrend appears to have coincided with a meeting of high-ranking officials from China’s Hubei …

One often hears blockchain in the same breath as security and supply chains. This week, a winning entry to a competition organized by the United States Department of Defense cast both these aspects in a new light. To keep pace with the ever-more technologized battlelines of contemporary warfare, the DoD continues to explore ways to innovate the manufacturing process and supply chain for weaponry and infrastructure in use by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. The Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, held virtually this year on Oct. 20–23, sought to recruit traditional DoD contractors, technology developers and academics to mobilize new …

According to tech evangelists Don and Alex Tapscott, blockchain technology will prove itself the most disruptive technology of the next decade. “We now have an Internet of value that can give us another opportunity to rewrite the economic power grid and the old social order”, said Don Tapscott. However, Tapscott senior underlines that it will take a while to transform established, multi-trillion dollars industries, such as the supply chain and financial transaction sphere. Even so, Alex Tapscott pointed out that successful blockchain use cases are already gaining traction. For instance, he mentioned that stablecoins are already having a significant impact …

Following a 2.5 year-long pilot program, an Australia mango producer is scaling up its use of blockchain technology for supply chain traceability. According to the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia, or CRCNA, the organization partnered with leading Australian mango producer Manbulloo and traceability software company Trust Provenance to test a supply chain management program across their supply chain and distribution centers in Queensland and the Northern Territory. The project, which kicked off in 2018, employs sensors placed in mango crates to track the movement of the sweet fruit in addition to monitoring its temperature, humidity, and transit time. …

Data is incredibly valuable. But right now, it’s being underutilized — and few of us have control over our digital footprint. Here, CyberVein’s global marketing director Pavel Jakovlev explains the network’s vision for big data, its use cases, and how everyday consumers can monetize their personal information. 1. Put simply, what does CyberVein do? CyberVein, just like Google, is always in beta. We have incredible developers and strategists, who are working on bespoke data management solutions for a variety of use cases: medical data handling, smart city initiatives, logistics/supply chains and Internet of Things. We would love to see our …

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent entity of Budweiser, Corona and many other beer brands, recently began to pilot a platform which lets end-customers track their malt beverages on the blockchain. This is not the first instance of the company's blockchain interest. They have previously unveiled a number of blockchain initiatives, including a vending machine ID verification system and document management protocols based on the technology. “For the first time in our European operations, this project will create a fully transparent, indirect supply network all the way to the end consumer,” Pieter Bruyland, CIO of AB InBev's European operations, commented in an …

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 …