China and Hong Kong are pouring money into the blockchain logistics industry to take the lead.
After Danish logistics firm Maersk terminated its blockchain-based supply chain platform last year, industry builders have not given up on blockchain applications in global trade.
Hong Kong-based Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), a nonprofit consortium focused on blockchain trade applications, is bullish on blockchain as a crucial logistics tool in the long term.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, GSBN currently operates one of the world’s largest platforms that can be described as an alternative to Maersk’s TradeLens tool. The platform is based on a permissioned blockchain with strong data governance, allowing only authorized parties to contribute and consume shipping-related data.
Despite major industry firms like Maersk terminating similar projects, GSBN CEO Bertrand Chen is confident that blockchain is yet to catch on in the industry, but its adoption may take another decade.
“I think for a lot of people, the clear understanding is this industry has digitized,” Chen said, arguing that there’s no chance that global trade will continue using “pen and paper” by 2032.