The Cardano foundation announced the release of a supply chain traceability and anti-counterfeit solution in partnership with Scantrust, an application of blockchain technology that has grown in popularity over the past year.
Scantrust is a company focused on providing digitalization services for brand protection, supply chain traceability, and consumer engagement, having worked with Fortune 500 companies and small to medium enterprises (SME) across 168 countries.
This new solution allows companies to make use of Scantrust’s secured QR codes while taking advantage of the speed and low fees of the Cardano blockchain, while also improving security and preventing tampering to ensure the authenticity of the data.
First announced back in December of 2020, the platform was successfully tested with Baia’s Wine, a Georgian artisan wine produced, by using a proof-of-concept implementation. This implementation allows a detailed data visualization of the status of the product at all steps in the supply chain.
Blockchain solutions like VeChain have focused exclusively on improving the supply chain management process, gaining increasing popularity in early 2020 amid the Covid19 pandemic which caused chaos among companies who struggled when lockdowns and social distancing started around the world.
Blockchain Could Stop Counterfeiting
According to the International Chamber of Commerce, it is estimated that counterfeiting and piracy of goods will generate $4.2 Trillion in revenue by 2022, with consumers in many countries being unable to make sure the goods they pay for are genuine.
Artesanal businesses are one of the most susceptible to being affected by this illicit activity, which in turn affects emerging economies in a significant way due to the importance of this industry for their GDP.
With multiple studies suggesting that users are willing to pay more and be more loyal to brands that offer a way to ensure their product’s authenticity, companies have jumped at the opportunity of harvesting technologies like blockchain to improve the transparency of their supply chain at every stage.
Companies like Volvo, Daimler AG, Norwegian Fishing companies, and others, have recently started testing blockchain solutions to improve the legitimacy of their business models and improve their internal processes.
Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, referred to the new solution by stating:
“Empowering trust and transparency across all industries and digital agreements is at the heart of the Cardano Foundation’s missions. I am proud of our Integrations team, who have worked tirelessly with Scantrust to deliver the first solution of its kind to leverage metadata on the Cardano blockchain. Together with Scantrust, we are helping brands to reconnect with their consumers, increase transparency in their supply chain, and fight counterfeit activity.”
Venture Fund Backed By Cardano Invests in COTI
cFund, the Cardano ecosystem venture fund, announced it would be investing $500k in COTI suggesting IOHK’s interest in continuing its partnership with COTI in the future.
Charles Hoskinson, IOHK director and founder of Cardano, referred to the importance of the partnership in a statement:
“We have tremendous respect for the COTI team and we are excited to deepen our relationship with this investment. COTI has been a great partner across several projects already, and we plan to leverage their advanced fintech architecture to enable future finance applications on ADA.”
While most recent blockchain networks have focused on creating an alternative to Ethereum by aiming at the same DeFi audience, Cardano would be focused on working with governments around the world to bring an economic revolution across the globe.
Hoskinson has referred to his vision of Cardano by saying the network would bring, “the greatest wealth transfers in human history, from the developed rich world to the developing not-so-rich world. Not because of charity but because it makes business common sense.”
With Cardano reaching a complete decentralization by the end of March as it gets closer to the end of the Goguen Era, the eyes of the blockchain community are set on it, and competitors like Polkadot, who have been seen as the most likely to overtake Ethereum, if that is even possible.
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