But now, after years of research and development, companies are using blockchain networks to conduct trade finance, track diamonds and prove the provenance of marijuana.

That’s a big leap for firms focused on using networks of linked computers to cut costs and the time it takes to conduct business in finance, trade and health care, said Brian Behlendorf, executive director of blockchain-software developer Hyperledger Project, which is backed by International Business Machines Corp.

“This is happening now,” Behlendorf said last week during a panel discussion at the Distributed 2018 conference in San Francisco. "There are running systems now on top of this technology.”

Tracking Weed

Earlier this month, a consortium created by Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Banco Santander SA, Societe Generale SA and other financial firms, said it completed seven real-world transactions involving 10 companies in cross-border trade. Everledger, a diamond tracking venture using the blockchain, is now active, Behlendorf said, and GreenStream Networks Inc. has been monitoring legal cannabis farming using a blockchain network. All of these firms are Hyperledger customers.

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