Can Blockchain Technology Destroy the Counterfeit Market?
A $1.8 trillion dollar problem plagues the world and the solution depends largely on the ability to spot a fake. While many can tell a Prada from a Prado, most counterfeit products are nearly impossible to distinguish. In fact, some consumers are perfectly happy with discounted knock offs. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, the problem is that when consumers buy counterfeit, they are funding crime.
Fake product manufacturing often employs the practice of forced labor, not only relying on human trafficking but actually supporting it. The emergence of new technology has broken ground for new solutions, and Agami Co. is on a mission to end counterfeiting while also curbing human trafficking.
To that end they have employed Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which is rooted in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Together, this allows hardware to supply power to and communicate with an otherwise unpowered tag used for identification and authentication tracking. The Agami NOA chip is the result of Agami Co’s patented offline NFC authentication protocol. Smartphone users will now have access to almost instant authentication capabilities. Physical products can now be backed by a non-fungible token (NFT) that is stored on the blockchain and is thus immutable.
The Agami Co. NFC Chip creates a code that is paired to an authenticator within IPFS. When there is a match, the URL is randomly generated and loaded on the user’s phone. Scrambling the URL prevents bad actors from being able to take the URL and place it into a fake. Some luxury products already offer apps for authentication but downloading an app for each brand a user purchases is simply not feasible and probably won’t be done by most consumers. Agami Co’s design is app-less.
Counterfeiting doesn’t just affect luxury products. It can also impact pharmaceuticals, athletic footwear, and more. The developer of Agami Co., Patrick Skinner, recently partnered with GeN3 Magazine to bring the patented technology to print. Every issue has an Agami NOA chip that can be used to authenticate each issue. The utility of NFTs will give GeN3 Magazine holders access to exclusive events, conferences, partnerships, discounts on sponsors, and more. Agami Co. has brought print into the digital age and presented a chip to the public that just might be hanging in your closet soon.
