As Mr. Yiannas studied their pitch, he said, “I became increasingly convinced that maybe we were onto the holy grail.”
The blockchain — the buzzy, bewildering technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin — is starting to be applied to real-world problems like tracking pork chops, shipping containers
and footwear with a speed and security not currently possible.
When customs authorities signed off on a document, they could immediately upload a copy of it, with a digital signature, so
that everyone else involved — including Maersk and government authorities — could see that it was complete.
Many technologists who got excited about Bitcoin have said
that the newer, corporate-designed blockchains — like the one being built by IBM — are missing one of the main elements of Bitcoin’s success, namely the extremely decentralized structure.
At Maersk, Mr. Stausholm said it could take five or even 10 years for
that to happen, given all the partners — manufacturers, customs officials and farmers — that need to come together.
Today, Mr. Krishna said, “The first-mover advantage is even more important than it used to be.”
After getting Ms. Rometty’s push on the blockchain, the IBM team’s first move was to make its software “open source,” meaning
that it would be free and available for anyone to review and tinker with.
A few months after Mr. Krishna’s aha moment, his team presented the idea at an annual gathering where IBM’s top executives consider new technologies
that could be major opportunities — or threats — to IBM’s business.
