Everledger is a UK-based Startup using Blockchain technology to authenticate and trace the origin of high-value and luxury goods, such as diamonds and wine that are authenticated by trusted players like certificate houses. It has become the first organisation to secure a bottle of wine’s provenance on the blockchain.
To unlock the Asian market, register now to the iFX EXPO in Hong Kong.
The bottle, a 2001 Margaux, was certified and secured on the Chai Wine Vault - a joint solution introduced by Everledger and fine wine expert Maureen Downey to transform provenance tracking in the fine wine industry.
“We hear daily from our industry partners on the threat fraudulent bottles pose to sales, trust and most importantly reputation,” says Leoni Runge, Everledger’s Head of Fine Wine. “Blockchain enables us to secure the identity of an asset in a way we haven’t been able to before. For the fine wine industry this means the opportunity to add a layer of transparency to every stage of a bottle’s journey across the supply chain.”
The Chai Wine Vault issues certification to bottles and Everledger takes this data and creates a permanent record on the blockchain. This digital proof travels with the wine as it moves between different stakeholders in the supply chain, with ownership and storage records updated as the bottle changes hands.
Everledger is part of the recently announced IBM blockchain ecosystem program and the Chai Wine Vault is built on Hyperledger Fabric. “Global trade fraud costs billions of dollars each year in lost revenue due to malicious activity or human record-keeping errors,” said Donna Dillenberger, IBM Fellow. “Our work with blockchain shows the potential to dramatically reduce these losses by ingraining transparency and security in the system from the ground up. Working with Everledger in tracing the provenance of diamonds, and now wine, shows how the application of this technology can fundamentally change the way consumer goods are exchanged.”
