BLOCKCHAIN

Most often associated among the general public with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, blockchain is the underlying technology used for transfer of these currencies but has much broader implications and potential uses in the global markets. Often referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) or a distributed, decentralized, public ledger, blockchain is a way of passing information, particularly about transactions, in a way that eliminates transaction costs while more importantly, dramatically reducing fraud potential.

At the most basic level, when two or more parties engage in a transaction, a “block” of data is created by an initiating party. Rather than a single point of confirmation (or failure) as in many financial systems, that block is verified by thousands or millions of computers across the net. That verified block then becomes one block in a chain, establishing both a unique record and a history unique to that record. To disrupt or falsify the transaction sequence would require falsifying or destroying not a single point but the entire chain.

Using blockchain technology, companies and industries can improve the accuracy and efficiency of not just monetary transactions but also of supply chains. Rather than single or dual-point ledger and verification systems, entire supply chains can be created and monitored using blockchain, resulting in greater accuracy, reliability and cost efficiencies for all parties involved.

TPGI is strictly interested in non-cryptocurrency applications for blockchain technologies and we are particularly interested in uses and implementations that add value or have uses in our other sector areas of focus.