De Beers Takes Further Blockchain Step

RAPAPORT… De Beers is piloting blockchain technology for the diamond industry, working with a small number of participants to test how it works, it said Tuesday.

The platform — which keeps a tamper-proof ledger of transactions — will enable a permanent digital record for every diamond registered on the network, De Beers explained. It will span the entire diamond pipeline, enabling improved confidence in the industry and its products by ensuring stones are conflict-free and natural, the miner noted.

De Beers first announced it was looking into blockchain for diamonds last month. An initial trial was successful, resulting in the working prototype that De Beers is now piloting, it added. That experiment will show the company how it can use and improve the platform, as well as indicating how it can integrate it with systems and processes that already exist in the trade. Ultimately, it envisages blockchain as an open platform for the diamond sector. The full launch will take place later this year.

“By leveraging blockchain technology, we will provide an additional layer of assurance to consumers and industry participants, with every diamond registered on the platform having a record as everlasting as the diamond itself,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.