Bitcoin Daily: Tesla Tests Blockchain To Speed Up Trucking Shipments in Shanghai; Bank Of England May Team With Companies On Digital Currency

Shipping technology company CargoSmart Limited led an experimental blockchain project for the release of cargo with the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), Tesla and China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), according to an announcement.

SIPG and COSCO made the cargo release process more efficient over the December 2019 pilot by letting Tesla speed up its cargo pickup steps through the effort, and CargoSmart further enhanced the application in March.

SIPG Executive DGM of Operation & Business Department Henry Huang said in the announcement, “The pilot is a key component of our journey towards paperless, trusted, and seamless trade processes at the Port of Shanghai, and it demonstrates the benefits for supply chain stakeholders around the world.”

The project is said to be one of the first experimental efforts with an ocean carrier communicating shipment data in real time via the blockchain with a terminal operator. It was meant to cut down on shipping agent verification steps with ocean carriers to accelerate the release of waybills. Truckers were then able to retrieve cargo at the terminal quicker.

In other news, Bank of England (BoE) analysts at work on the central bank digital currency (CBDC) have said that private firms could potentially have a much more significant role when it comes to the distribution and issuance of money, CoinDesk reported, citing a webinar.

In the past, the BoE has noted that bitcoin and like digital currencies don’t fit the needed criteria to be money. However, CBDC Analyst Ben Dyson said, “that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible for somebody to improve upon that technology and create something that much better fulfills the qualities of money.”

Dyson did not reportedly discuss Facebook’s Libra project. The bank’s perspective about private currencies are separate from those of other central banks. Officials in Germany and France have made their opposition to Libra known. At the same time, it is reportedly believed that China sped up its plan for a digital rival amid a potential competitor from Facebook. And the Canadian central bank governor said it would only put forward a CBDC to contend with a possibility such as Libra.