Using blockchain technology to guarantee provenance

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The Story

The Story

One of the first practical uses of blockchain outside of cryptocurrency.

Icons constantly strives to make sure customers can buy memorabilia with confidence in a market where the biggest challenge is fraud.

We saw an opportunity to create a technology solution that would take Icons credibility to the next level.

The Challenge

Icons needed to reassure customers about authenticity.

For a sports fan investing in a signed shirt or photo, the most important consideration is whether the item is authentic. Whether you intend to treasure it forever or resell at a later point, provenance is vital.

In 2017, online sales of fake consumer goods increased 15% close to the growth rate of legitimate e-commerce transactions.

As the world's largest signed football memorabilia company, Icons needed to fight back against the tide of counterfeit products.

Our Approach

A lean, agile, multi-disciplinary team worked in two-week sprints to create two custom .Net applications.

We built a content management application for staff and a customer-facing application that enables buyers to log in and view their unique certificate of authenticity. Sprints involved branding, setting up the environment and getting rapidly to a proof of concept.

We tested the applications with gift-buyers, memorabilia hunters and corporate clients in the sports world and continuously validated the prototype.

The Product

B-Lock: one of the first uses of blockchain technology outside of cryptocurrency

Staff at Icons upload rich information relating to an item's provenance to the blockchain, matched against each product's unique identifying number. Once customers buy a piece of memorabilia, they can log into the blockchain to access all the content relating to their purchase. The prototype is now built and we're looking forward to launching later this year.