Blockchain – the technology that underpins the digital currency bitcoin and is essentially a digital database of time-stamped records or transactions, which are unchangeable and decentralised – is becoming increasingly popular as a track and trace tool for physical supply chains and to guard against counterfeit goods.

TruTrace Technologies, a Canadian developer of a fully-integrated blockchain platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with Australian technology company Laava to drive product provenance and traceability.

The UPC (Universal Product Code) linear barcode has offered price lookup functionality for decades. However, the classic barcode is no longer keeping up with today’s growing demands for greater product information transparency, traceability, and authentication.