When it was adopted in supply chain management in the 1970s, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) was deemed the most disruptive technology standard in the sector. It’s still in use today, but as Dr. Craig Wright notes, integrating the standard into Bitcoin could transform the sector.
“EDI is very simple to code into Bitcoin,” Dr. Wright tells CoinGeek Backstage reporter Becky Liggero.
“Getting people to think about how we might do that is important, and it’s not as difficult as people make it out to be. Once you structure all this information, then it’s doable. Then, an NFT, rather than having a Bored Ape, can have useful information.”
At the Bitcoin Masterclasses #5 in London, Dr. Wright delved into the integration of EDI and Bitcoin. While EDI gave the supply chain management industry a big push toward digitalization, many of the processes are still paper-based. The digital processes are still slow, costly and suffer from a lack of trust between participants.
“What we’ll be doing is taking the existing system and porting all the existing data and methodology to be stored on Bitcoin. That gives you a rail into utilizing it,” he told CoinGeek Backstage.
This integration will especially be beneficial for the smaller players in the system. While the current EDI standards are not up to standard, global behemoths can still tap advanced systems from companies like SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce. The small businesses who can’t afford these expensive systems need a Bitcoin-based EDI system the most, Dr. Wright says.
We live in the digital era where data is the currency. However, Big Tech still owns our data and continues to mint billions of dollars from its users. For years, Dr. Wright has advocated for Bitcoin developers to build applications rivaling these legacy systems while giving users ownership of their data.
As he told CoinGeek Backstage, Dr. Wright believes data should be on-chain. Any company can then build their applications and compete for this data by offering the best user experience.
Watch The Bitcoin Masterclasses #5 in London: EDI logistics & tracing goods
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.
