Tracr was conceived by De Beers in 2017 as a comprehensive mine-to-customer traceability solution for the entire diamond industry.
The pilot project, involving a small group of industry participants, launched in January 2018, following a successful proof-of-concept trial, and is on track for a full launch later this year. BCG Digital Ventures is supporting the development of the platform.
De Beers is a major player in various parts of the diamond value chain, providing roughly one-third of the global supply of diamonds by value, and it has long-standing relationships with all relevant industry players.
BCG Digital Ventures has strong expertise in business creation, engineering and blockchain architecture, as well as significant experience in building game-changing technologies in partnership with corporates.
Tracr is designed to be an inclusive and open platform for the diamond industry, which will be reflected in its governance structure. We are engaging with key industry stakeholders, including other diamond producers, industry trade associations, graders, governments, logistics providers, retailers and banks, to develop the best governance setup for the platform.
Low visibility and control of origin drives uncertainty about ethics & authenticity of products
Sensitive data like client names and prices need to remain confidential
Lack of reliable, permanent records of assets, as they move along the value chain, undermines customer confidence in asset provenance
High costs of compliance and data management, due to complex, manual, and inconsistent processes
Limited trust among transacting parties, due to the lack of transparency and immutable traceability
Auditability
Tamper-proof records
Security
Smart contracts
Democratic collaboration
Data authenticity
Privacy controls restrict access to sensitive data, while maintaining traceability.
Personal and organisational identities and KYC (Know Your Customer) are digitally managed to ensure accountability.
Tracr is a collaborative industry wide solution.
Uploaded data is protected by asymmetric cryptography.
Data science and physical ID techniques allow for tracking of diamonds from rough to polished with confidence.
Privacy controls restrict access to sensitive data, all while maintaining traceability.
Personal and organisational identities and KYC (Know Your Customer) are intelligently managed digitally, maximising trust and accountability.
Tracr utilises a tamper-proof digital diamond register for the industry through blockchain technology.
Primary and secondary data are protected through asymmetric cryptography.
By utilising data science and physical identification techniques, tracking of diamonds from rough to polish can be done with confidence.
Industry trust: underpins confidence in diamonds and diamond industry overall
Efficiency: improves efficiency, for example, in compliance and KYC
Financing: facilitates faster access and potentially improved rates due to reduced perceptions of risk
Efficiency: decreases reliance on email and paperwork by automating many processes
Trust: elevates consumer confidence and trust in diamonds
Story-telling: allows retailers to provide consumers with more information about their diamond and its journey
Industry progress: strengthens industry initiatives that support trust in diamonds, and the value chain through which they travel
Efficiency: • supports automation of KYC and industry checks; creates an immutable record for registrations and certifications
Fraud detection: allows for automated detection of fraud (e.g. round-tripping and double financing)
Reduced risk & costs: reinforces KYC checks for industry participants; digitises documentation
Tracr is being designed as an inclusive and open platform for the diamond industry. Industry players will need to go through a KYC process to prove their identity in order to participate. This is no different from current KYC processes. The platform will be open for such applications later this year.
Tracr is compatible with existing ERP (record-keeping) and stock tracing systems like AX and Fantasy, among others. Although we will continue to integrate with a broader spectrum of systems, we have devised some simple file upload-based methods that should make it easy for anyone in the industry to participate. We are also working on an integration layer allowing for more direct and real-time data updates.
We have built cutting-edge privacy technology that allows users to own their data and share its selectively, while still ensuring immutable traceability. Neither De Beers nor other platform participants will be able to access data unless the data owner chooses to share it.
In addition to benefits that Tracr provides for all diamond producers, as described above, the platform also creates opportunities for entities to build applications on top of it to capture value. De Beers plans to create and build some of these applications. But this opportunity is not restricted to De Beers, and Tracr is fully committed to helping any other application developer innovate on its platform.
No. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is just one of the uses of the blockchain technology, which has multiple applications
This diamond platform builds on top of the fundamental features of the blockchain technology to create a tamper-proof and permanent record of a diamond as it travels through the value chain. This platform then unlocks the ability to create trust between untrusting parties and allows then to transact freely with confidence.
There is no fee per se to participate in the platform. That said, each participant will be responsible for integration into the system. By design, all blockchains (including Ethereum, which we currently use) require minimal transaction fees for the network to function.
Tracr is designed to be an inclusive and open platform for the diamond industry, which will be reflected in its governance structure. We are currently engaging with key industry stakeholders, including other diamond producers, industry trade associations, graders, governments, logistics providers, retailers and banks, to agree on the best governance setup for the platform.
Uploaded data will help create an immutable and tamper-proof trail of a diamond’s journey along the value chain providing benefits for all participants, but at no point in time will it be visible to anyone outside the organisation which owns it (unless the data owner chooses to share it).
Tracr is the first blockchain use case that can track a diamond as it changes hands multiple times across the diamond value chain. It uses cutting-edge technology that allows users to own their data and use privacy controls to selectively share it with others.
This is another key feature of Tracr that no one else has built.
In addition to a simple barcode-based unique ID, Tracr incorporates complex data science models to create a unique signature for rough and polished diamonds alike. Once this signature is created, a diamond can forever be verified against it to prevent fraud of any kind.
