Boston meet with Veridat: Helping enterprises establish trust

At the London Blockchain Conference (LBC) 2024, Veridat’s Co-Founder Robert Huber came by the CoinGeek studio and asked if we could pass on his hello to Patrick Thompson, one of CoinGeek’s contributing writers. While he was there, Huber agreed to do an interview on blockchain’s ability to provide a universal source of truth for authenticating data, which is why Veridat exists.

Fast forward to early 2025, and while meeting with John Harnett, the U.K. BSV Ambassador, I mentioned my upcoming trip to Boston, and he pointed out that the Veridat team is also based in Boston. Somehow, I missed the Boston connection when I met with Hubert at LBC, but Harnett kindly re-connected me with Hubert and John Giantsidis, President at Veridat, so we could try to arrange an in-person meeting. Huber was out of the country at the time, but I was able to connect with Giantsidis and have a several-hour coffee session, during which we dove straight into the exciting projects going on at Veridat and how blockchain technology solves problems within enterprises.

When I returned to London and had time to reflect on our conversation, I condensed the topics we covered into a Q&A for Giantsidis, an inspiring dialogue I’m delighted to share with our CoinGeek readers.

Becky Liggero: It was such a pleasure to see you in Boston, John! Let’s begin our recap with Veridat’s recent announcement of a partnership with the US Navy. Can you elaborate on how this partnership came about and why it’s such an exciting opportunity for you?

John Giantsidis: We became aware of the U.S. Navy’s efforts in blockchain-based cybersecurity tools back in early 2023, and we had been monitoring the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) secure software development environment called Powerful Authentication Regime Applicable to Naval OFP Integrated Development, or PARANOID. When the U.S. Navy considered companies in the private sector, we immediately engaged in the discussions that ultimately led to Veridat and the U.S. Navy joining forces to commercialize PARANOID.

PARANOID completes our service offerings with “military grade trust,” in addition to our existing “commercial-grade,” like BSV Bitcoin, Algo, and the like. Our clients would now have the ability to match the risk profile of their data, process or output to the corresponding trust service. We look forward to further advancing the PARANOID technology for all relevant military and commercial end-use applications.

Becky Liggero: How exciting—congrats! Are there any other notable partnerships you would like to mention? How is Veridat helping these partners?

John Giantsidis: It is important to note that lack of trust costs global brands trillions of dollars annually. Businesses are banking on the opportunities afforded by digital technologies and new forms of client engagement. A lack of trust can quickly derail those ambitions. In today’s always-on, data-rich environment, companies have recognized the need to maximize trust along the customer journey and across the supply chain and value chain. Beyond the traditional sales channel requests, we are seeing exponential requests from prospective clients to help them with their transparency and governance frameworks to build trust in artificial intelligence (AI) and maximize its benefits. Our clients rely on our transparent governance and algorithmic guardrails to mitigate risks, establish trust, and unlock their AI investment.

Our portfolio of partners and clients is quite diverse, from our early adopters in AstraZeneca, working together on their FDA CMC activities and data and activities focusing on ensuring the quality, safety, and efficacy of a drug product throughout its lifecycle, from raw materials to the final pharmaceutical product. To Inversa Leathers, which offers the highest levels of integrity and moral responsibility in trade with invasives. Invasive™ Leather provides the fashion industry with a net-positive material and enables materials sourced from individual hunters with visibility to the hunter’s name, time and location of retrieval. To Radmantis, offering cutting-edge solutions for uncrewed fish farming, enhancing production, and furthering underwater threat intelligence with their AMD partnership.

Becky Liggero: Where do you see other notable opportunities within the U.S. market for the data trustworthiness, transparency and security solutions that Veridat can provide?

John Giantsidis: In data we trust…that is the expectation. Can you trust the data? Can you trust the AI that processes the data and renders decisions and outputs? And how? Those are some of the questions clients ask us to answer with immutable evidence, not just assertions; whether we are supporting litigation, e-discovery, mergers and acquisitions or immutable and trustworthy reporting to the FDA, SEC, and other regulatory agencies, or maintaining and enhancing vendor management by optimizing value, controlling costs, and mitigating risks through actual, real-time performance monitoring.

Becky Liggero: The value chain is another topic we covered in Boston. What opportunities do you see for Veridat and other blockchain-powered solutions in the value chain?

John Giantsidis: I truly believe that organizations that build trust in their processes and their data, the rewards are enormous. Leveraging Veridat, companies can maintain the integrity of data attributes collected throughout the supply chain. Companies can couple price premiums with the product or service claims (sustainable/organic) being made if they can provide evidence of the various actors involved throughout the different stages of the value chain or confirm the origins of ingredients used in production. Veridat provides visibility into the originator or producer of products/services, enabling companies to illuminate their extended supplier network to monitor supply chain disruptions proactively and take more targeted actions to prevent loss.

Becky Liggero: And finally, in your experience with pitching customers on blockchain-powered solutions, what are they most interested in hearing about?

John Giantsidis: Clients are interested in solutions and problem-solving, not how “cool” the technology is. The type of technology being used to render value is immaterial to the clients. That is secondary in importance and, in some cases, not even part of the equation. We strive to showcase actual immutable tools, products and services to our clients that can help make them more profitable. We focus on delivering value, and as part of explaining all the elements that comprise value, we discuss the cost of the blockchain solution, similar to what we do with others. A “race to the bottom” pricing is simply not the answer for what our clients need—they need our bespoke success strategy. When our clients experience the craftsmanship behind our services, the meticulous attention to their needs, and the long-term benefits of partnering with Veridat, whether on a commercial-grade or military-grade approach (PARANOID), the price becomes a secondary consideration to Veridat value.

Becky Liggero: Brilliant John. Thank you so much for recapping our conversation in Boston; I hope to see you again at LBC 2025!

Watch: Utilizing blockchain tech for data integrity