The United States Treasury Department has almost completed tests of a blockchain-based grants payment capability as part of the exploration of how the tech can improve such operations.
US Treasury to Complete PoC of Blockchain-Based Grants Payment System https://t.co/9usSty6aMm pic.twitter.com/uVOuKzaJ39 — Cryptotips (@Smart_wyckhuys) January 14, 2020
On January 10, it has been reported by Business of Federal Technology that the Treasury Department launched a program designed to discover whether blockchain could provide more efficiencies into the operations of a blockchain-based grants payment system. Currently, the agency has almost completed a Proof-of-Concept for a blockchain-based letter of credit for federal grant recipients.
By describing the principle of the program’s operation, Craig Fischer, the Innovation Program Manager at the agency, explained that the platform tokenizes electronic federal letters of credit sent out to grant recipients, thus helping trace the distribution of the grant payments and making the transaction more secure.
However, the tracking feature also enables the government to see data such as recipient identification, grant amount and key dates like when it was awarded.
<img src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2000px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury.svg-1024x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-8250 lazyload" width="235" height="235" />
To receive a tokenized letter, the recipient would need to have an electronic wallet associated with a bank account. The tests are expected to be finished by the end of January.
Likewise, blockchain has been widely used to track transactions and products. So, earlier in January, IBM and Farmer Connect, an organization committed to increasing transparency and sustainability in agriculture supply chains, demoed a blockchain-based app that allows consumers to learn about the coffee beans they purchase.
Thus, the mobile app provides consumers with an interactive map to show the journey of their coffee by scanning a QR-code.
Source: fcw.com | cointelegraph.com