This could be an interesting case for blockchains. I normally am not a proponent of seeing everything thru that lens, but having a proper chain that is publicly verifiable is in the public’s interest. That said, there’s not a lot of incentive for people to reveal their supply chains — it’s often trade secret or hidden for a reason.
If there was a market behind it, then there might be a way. But good luck getting Samsung to tell you where their cobalt came from, or if some generic drug was made in a dangerous lab. Even if you knew it was Generic Factory 1736, it’s hard to know if that’s good or bad.
I carry a lot of guilt for having "oh, blockchains could help" thoughts quite a lot. A federally supported blockchain used as a public notary and other official functions, as you mentioned, seems like it may have a place in the future.
Someone really needs to create a version of the cloud to butt extension that replaces "blockchain" with "database".
What you're describing is a useful application for a _database_. Mixing "blockchain" into it would only hurt the viability of the database, not bring any obvious benefit.
Your comment makes so much more sense with the word database:
"A federally supported database used as a public notary and other official functions, as you mentioned, seems like it may have a place in the future."
Of course not. But that’s true of any system. Instead, you’d have to rely on each piece of the chain feeling confident about what’s before them... if they are professional there should be non-technological ways to attack that.
If there was a market behind it, then there might be a way. But good luck getting Samsung to tell you where their cobalt came from, or if some generic drug was made in a dangerous lab. Even if you knew it was Generic Factory 1736, it’s hard to know if that’s good or bad.