- An Avalanche-based startup, Blockticity, has minted over 30,000 NFTs to authenticate tested products from a U.S. cannabis lab.
- Blockticity plans to enter other industries to issue certificates of authenticity.
The Intersection of Two Growing Industries: Blockchain and Cannabis
The blockchain and cannabis industry may seem strange, but they share more. They share a bond from being two new concepts worming their way into acceptance and legalization worldwide.
Like blockchain, the legalization of the cannabis industry is still in its early stages globally. Some states in the U.S. recognize cannabis and psychedelics as a legal business, but a large percentage of the business remains illegal.
In the U.S., a state like Wyoming recognizes the blockchain industry and incorporates part of its element in its laws, while other states do not share the same warmth.
The two unlikely pairings share a bond that is made stronger as blockchain disrupts the cannabis industry, providing solutions to its challenges.
Blockchain has the capabilities to revolutionize the operations of the cannabis industry through payment processing to supply chain management and ensuring transparency.
Blockticity, an Avalanche-based startup that provides certificates of authenticity (COA), expressed how blockchain is disrupting the cannabis industry.
How Blockchain is Bringing Transparency and Trust to the Cannabis Industry
Fraud and the lack of reliable supply chain management are some of the cannabis industry’s challenges. Laboratory certification of authenticity is not reliable as fraudsters can tamper with QR codes to modify data. Blockticity’s solution, using blockchain technology to issue a confirmable proof by minting COAs on the blockchain, proves reliable.
Blockticity minted thousands of certificates on Avalanche blockchain to verify $275 million worth of hemp, kratom, and psychedelic mushrooms.
In a partnership with ACS Laboratory, the largest cannabis and hemp laboratory in the Eastern U.S., the goods authenticator startup minted the NFT drop to verify the authenticity of the products tested by the lab. As a provider of testing services to its consumers, ACS Laboratory utilizes Blockticity’s NFT certificate of authenticity to help its consumers verify that the lab has successfully tested the product.
The startup achieved this by printing a QR code on the tested product; a quick scan of the code links the Certificate of Authenticity minted as an NFT on the Avalanche blockchain.
The NFT helps the end users in confirming that the product is authentic.
For the first NFT drop batch, Blockiticity minted 36,640 certificates of authenticity (COA). The next batch will include 120,000 NFT Certificates of authenticity for ACS Laboratory cannabis products.
“Product certification and traceability are two promising areas that have long been ripe for disruption by blockchain,” said John Nahas, VP of BD at Ava Labs. “Blockticity’s solution leverages the speed and security of Avalanche to unlock this promise. We’re thrilled that Blockticity has joined forces with ACS Laboratory to mint blockchain-backed certifications for millions of dollars of consumer products.”
Blockiticity’s success in ensuring consumer confidence is a significant step in solving transparency and product verification challenges beyond the cannabis industry.
The press release revealed that the startup will utilize Avalanche NFTs in verifying the authenticity of other products like sugar, sneakers, fruits, meat, etc.