Late last week, one of the nation's leading mortgage companies successfully originated a loan on Provenance, a blockchain platform that reportedly allows lenders to originate, service and finance loans with lower costs and reduced risks throughout the loan process. The mortgage company will originate home equity line of credit loans through Figure, a SaaS that offers borrowers the ability to complete the lending process digitally and access their funds in days. Also this week, a digital logistics firm, Marine Transport International, launched Traca – a blockchain-based tool that reportedly enables recycling companies to relay essential data to value chain stakeholders (e.g., trash producers, recyclers, regulators and processing centers) in an accelerated time frame. Traca's first trial reportedly cut administrative processing times from a few hours to minutes during the transport of used paper containers to Thailand from England.

A global professional services firm recently partnered with TruTrace Technologies to deliver a blockchain-based traceability solution for the cannabis industry. TruTrace's technology reportedly collects and stores plant-testing data and genomic verification using a blockchain-powered database. Also this week, another leading global professional services firm released a report on blockchain technology in the industrial manufacturing sector. Topics addressed in the report include blockchain solutions to address supply chain transparency, track credentials of key personnel, and improve audit and compliance measures. According to the report, the industrial manufacturing sector is ranked second to financial services among industries leading the way on blockchain.

In international news, the government of Catalonia announced plans to develop IdentiCAT, a decentralized identity platform for its citizens. The Catalonian government's new self-sovereign system reportedly seeks to allow any user to verify the legal age of a citizen with the ID system, without the citizen providing either his or her birth date or place of birth. IdentiCAT ultimately aims to empower citizens to control and manage their own identities with complete privacy.

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