De Beers to use Tracr blockchain to assure sourcing of diamonds

The diamond firm De Beers said it is deploying its Tracr blockchain, at scale, to provide immutable records of every diamond’s origin.

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Fast facts

• De Beers, which developed Tracr, has already registered a quarter of its production by value on the network.

• Tracr, which can register 1 million diamonds on its platform per week, claims to be the only diamond blockchain that provides tamper-proof records of diamonds’ origin at scale.

• Tracr users, like De Beers Group, get their own version of the distributed network, ensuring only users have control and access to their data.

• Tracr’s deployment “will underpin confidence in natural diamonds and represents the first step in a technological transformation that will enhance standards and raise expectations of what we are capable of providing to our end clients,” De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said in a statement.

• A New York Times article in 2000 alleged De Beers drew attention to the ethical sourcing of diamonds to hold onto its monopoly and restrict the unlawful traffic in diamonds.

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