Bitcoin Daily: FDA Pegs Walmart, IBM For Blockchain Pilot; Wyoming State Embraces Blockchain

IBM, KPMG, Merck, and Walmart announced that they have been selected by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a pilot program that addresses requirements to identify, track and trace prescription medicines and vaccines distributed within the United States.

The project will create a shared permissioned blockchain network that allows real-time monitoring of products.

“With successful blockchain pilots in pork, mangoes and leafy greens that provide enhanced traceability, we are looking forward to the same success and transparency in the biopharmaceutical supply chain,” Karim Bennis, Walmart’s vice president of strategic planning and implementation in Health and Wellness, said in a press release. “We believe we have to go further than offering great products that help our customers live better at everyday low prices. Our customers also need to know they can trust us to help ensure products are safe. This pilot and U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act requirements will help us do just that.”

In other news, Wyoming — America’s least-populous state — has turned its focus on blockchain, attracting a slew of new businesses as a result.

Over the past two years, the state has passed 13 blockchain laws, with additional proposals on the way.

“The ethos of blockchain and the ethos of Wyoming are very similar,” said Caitlin Long, co-founder of the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, according to Wired.

The results of the new regulations have brought dozens of limited liability blockchain and crypto corporations to Wyoming.

“I’ve been around startups a long time and I don’t ever remember interacting with a tech startup that was based in Wyoming,” noted Stephen McKeon, an economics professor at the University of Oregon. “But in the last two years just in crypto I’ve seen it multiple times.” However, while these companies might be legally based in Wyoming, most aren’t located in the state.

And mobile mesh networking company goTenna has released a paper detailing how decentralized mesh networks that send “mobile communications” could be powered by bitcoin micropayments. In addition, the company has created a new subsidiary — Global Mesh Labs LLC — to work on it.

“80 billion mobile messages are sent each day via carriers and [Internet Service Providers (ISPs)]. Mobile mesh networks offer an anti-fragile, decentralized alternative that can extend connectivity to places centralized networks can’t,” the website states, according to CoinDesk.