AOJ E-NEWS: The Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX) is testing blockchain technology as a way to authenticate ownership of diamonds, noting the methodology could cut costs and improve efficiency in the industry.

Blockchain is a public database of transactions that allows anyone on the network to view records, eliminating the need for a central authority to verify trades and making it impossible to tamper with data. It is the technology behind bitcoin, the crypto-currency launched in 2009.

The Singapore exchange has partnered with two specialist firms to produce the first part of the service, which lets holders of graded diamonds prove their authenticity and ownership. With the technology, changes of ownership automatically appear on the system, creating a permanent digital record.

SDiX – collaborating with physical commodity digitization company Kynetix and blockchain distributor Everledger – was able to confirm the effectiveness of the service by testing it out on a “basket” of diamonds. The technology accurately authenticated the key details of the selection of the stones, graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

“The system opens up the potential for a range of future applications for diamond-market participants, including enhanced provenance data, increased supply-chain security and efficiencies, and new risk-management tools,” SDiX said in a statement 15th June.

Courtesy- Rapaport