IBM has announced a cloud service for organizations requiring a secure environment for blockchain networks. According to the company, the service, which allows clients to test and run blockchain projects that handle private data securely, is ideal for organizations in regulated industries that need strong compliance measures.

"Blockchain will change the way we transfer high value goods, digital assets and financial instruments," said Donna Dillenberger, IBM Fellow for Enterprise Solutions. "To accelerate blockchain adoption, clients must trust the infrastructure and the system that blockchain is running on. With IBM Blockchain, we are expanding access to the emerging technology — not only by making it easy to get up and running on the IBM Cloud but also by using the most secure infrastructure."

By creating a permanent record that can't be altered, blockchain technology is well-suited for logging and monitoring large amounts of data, such as short-term loans or the millions of parts coursing through the aviation industry's supply chain. Blockchain technology also permits tracking diamonds and other goods where buyers want to know the origins and previous owners, Bill Fearnley Jr., a research director at International Data Corp., told The Wall Street Journal. "Valuable assets of any kind could be tracked better, with an unerasable history, on a blockchain," said Fearnley.

Everledger, a company focused on ensuring authenticity and minimizing fraud in the international trade of diamonds, fine art and luxury goods, leverages blockchain technology to protect suppliers, buyers and shippers against theft, counterfeiting and other forms of corruption. Everledger is building a business network using IBM Blockchain to power its global certification system that demonstrates the origin of high-value goods and tracks them through the supply chain.

"When you are in the business of provenance, secured records, access and transparency are everything. There is no compromise when it comes to security and one cannot underestimate the expertise required to enable this," said Leanne Kemp, founder and CEO of Everledger. "Having the opportunity to build, test, scale and refine Everledger on IBM Blockchain, underpinned by a security-rich infrastructure, is a game changer. It has accelerated our ability to move fast and deliver the most innovative solutions to our partners internationally and confidentially."