If we’re all going to learn, let’s learn together. Don’t repeat the mistakes of others. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Today’s Agenda

  1. VISA — B2B Connect
  2. World Food Program — Building Blocks
  3. DeBeers — Tracr

1. VISA B2B Connect

Source: Visa

1.1 Problem To Be Solved

1.2 Promise

1.3 How It Works

Source: VISA

1.4 Pilot Partners

1.5 How To Get In

1.6 Roadmap

1.7 Results

2. World Food Programme — Building Blocks

Source: WFP

2.1 Problem To Be Solved

2.2 Promise

2.3 How It Works

Source: WFP

2.4 Pilot Partners

2.5 How To Get In

2.6 Roadmap

2.7 Results

3. DeBeers — Tracr

3.1 Problem To Be Solved

Source: Tracr

3.2 Promise

3.3 How It Works

Source: Tracr

3.4 Pilot Partners

3.5 How To Get In

3.6 Roadmap

3.7 Results

4. Observations

  1. Most corporate-led pilots have a high degree of centralisation, using PoA consensus mechanisms (WFP), permissioned private blockchains (VISA) or KYC (DeBeers). Since the WFP has control over who joins its network, it also has the power to rewrite transaction histories. Instead of cutting banks out of the equation, it has essentially become one
  2. Centralisation & Decentralisation sit on two ends of a spectrum. A slight shift towards the decentralisation camp is already yielding results. Taking Tracr as an example, securely tracking a diamond across the full value chain is impossible without industry-wide collaboration
  3. Appetite for coalitions, to learn, but also to share risk. DeBeers and VISA both work with a broad coalition to accelerate learning (the more data touch-points, the more well-rounded learnings are likely to be), but also to lend legitimacy to initiatives
  4. The friendlier the blockchain implementation to legacy processes, the higher the likelihood of adoption. Centralised organisations won’t become decentralised overnight
  5. The cost of blockchain projects isn’t just blockchain related. Blockchain is useless if the wrong data is recorded. To store data you’ve never stored, you need to use tools you’ve never used. In addition to a simple barcode-based unique ID, Tracr incorporates complex data science models to create a unique signature for rough and polished diamonds alike. Once this signature is created, a diamond can forever be verified against it to prevent fraud of any kind
  6. Experimenting with blockchain is palatable to corporations. Crypto-assets, less so. The prevailing sentiment is that blockchain can benefit compliance, whereas tokens complicate it
  7. That being said, the first Fortune 500 company to crack tokenisation will have a significant first mover advantage. Think Blue Ocean strategy
  8. In the next year(s) Fortune 500 companies will apply start-up learnings at scale. May 2015: Leanne Wood founded Everledger, a global digital registry to tackle “blood diamonds”. Jan 2018: De Beers looks into blockchain to improve transparency of the diamond value chain
  9. Business goals go beyond new revenue streams, ranging from a more traditional fee-based service (VISA) to saving costs (WFP saves $150,000 a month while eliminating a staggering 98% of bank-related transfer fees), to boosting consumer confidence to increase the overall target market (DeBeers)
  10. There are benefits and downsides to using an external development team. To get a pilot going large corporations often use an external development teams, e.g. Tracr was developed in cooporation with BCG Digital Ventures. The upside: developers with exposure to multiple projects. The downside: blockchain talent is in short supply. The take-away: bringing a blockchain pilot internally takes longer than you think, potentially delaying the roadmap

What do you think of these pilots, and which pilots do you want us to cover next? Any information missing that should be there? Tell us in the comments!

Arwen Smit (@arwensmit) is CEO at MintBit (www.mintbit.io). Want more insights? Subscribe to the monthly Blockchain Byte newsletter here or follow us on Twitter at @mintbit_.