Russian diamond firm to use blockchain solution to sell diamonds in China

MOSCOW, Dec 25, 2019, BTCmanager. Russia-based diamond producer, ALROSA announced that it will launch a distributed ledger technology-powered (DLT) solution on one of China’s leading social media platforms WeChat to enable Chinese retailers to ensure the legitimacy and safety of the diamonds, InfoBRICS reported.

Blockchain technology, among other things, is a match made in heaven for the supply chain management and logistics space. The emerging technology ensures that data once fed on the network cannot be changed at a later date which is essential for the supply chain space which often involves perishable and high-value commodities.

In a bid to leverage DLT to bring more transparency to the rather opaque diamond supply chain, Russian diamond-producing firm ALROSA – in association with fintech firm Everledger – has decided to launch a blockchain-enabled platform that will allow Chinese diamond retailers to access diamond’s supply chain journey from mine to consumer.

ALROSA added that with the help of the soon-to-be-launched platform, consumers will have the power to verify all the significant details pertaining to their purchases including the material’s origins, and characteristics, among other things.

ALROSA’s head of diamonds Pavel Vinikhin said:

“We are delighted to support this WeChat Mini Program with Everledger, as it reinforces our pursuit for sustainable mining and transparent supply chain information. Chinese consumers will be certain of the origin of their diamonds.”

“We believe demonstrating full provenance of our diamonds on the most popular social media platform will help us to further strengthen our sales base in China.”

The platform’s integration with WeChat means that consumers will also be able to pay for their purchases using WeChat Pay. They will also be able to attest their ownership through the Everledger blockchain platform, the company added. Evgeny Gokhberg, Head of Europe at Everledger commented on the development saying:

“This is a groundbreaking initiative with the titans of the diamond and internet industries. We’re glad to partner with ALROSA, as we share the same goal of enabling more transparency to the market.”