ShipChain

Consider the magnitude of the logistics industry. Looking back through history, the wheel is essentially the cornerstone of modern civilization. It brought us transportation, and transportation afforded us the systematic transfer of goods. From farm to market, and from market to table, the movement of products in bulk has been the single most important adaptation of the last 10,000 years.

Trade, in turn, is our second oldest and most important pivot. From long-distance trading, our economies were established, which allowed modern civilizations to thrive. The oldest coin-based currency can be thought of as a proxy for trading values greater than two hands can carry, or for trading commodities that aren’t physically available nearby, and so currency itself necessitates logistics. Together, trade and logistics form the backbone of human achievement.

Despite the revolution brought on by the advent of the cart, the ship, the engine, and the airplane, the shipping industry as a whole has been one of the slowest markets to adapt and evolve over the past century. The Information Age has disrupted nearly every major workforce on the planet. Globalization has opened new trade routes, technology has changed the way we shop and spend, and so naturally, the demand for shipping has reached an all-time high. It’s no wonder that most shipping customers are shocked and dismayed to find their brokers still relying on artifacts like paper records, written manifests, and spoken words to get cargo from point to point. It’s time for a breakthrough in how we handle freight.

Blockchain technology is often characterized as “disruptive” because it can revolutionize the way we interact as a society. Distributed ledgers are disruptive for ancient business models in the same way email disrupted the mailbox. Applied correctly, a blockchain will facilitate the digitization of recordkeeping processes related to the trade of assets, even in scenarios when intermediaries and brokers are incentivized to resist revolution. The blockchain can improve the transportation of commodities in every country, across the entire globe, and beyond. We’re launching ShipChain to make that leap possible.