ROME, December 28th (Xinhua) – Italy is moving towards the use of blockchain – a sort of cryptic technology at the forefront – to help ensure the future of some of the country's most traditional craft products.
The history of Blockchain dates back to about a decade. It uses a complex and decentralized set of records, each time stamped and linked to the previous record in the series. It is best known as the technological backbone for virtual currencies such as bitcoins, but is increasingly used for other types of storage.
One of these, analysts told Xinhua, could be aimed at protecting "Made in Italy" products, which all carry a trademark to show that they have been designed, designed, manufactured and packaged in Italy. The "Made in Italy" brand is used as a quality label for some of the country's oldest and most traditional industries, classifying itself from artisan food products and wine to design and fashion.
The "Made in Italy" brand is considered more restrictive than similar initiatives in other countries, which allow some parts of the production flows of products that use the label to take place abroad. In Italy, every phase of the production process must take place in Italy.
"Italy has spent years stressing that a" Made in Italy "seal is a guarantee that a product has been made with a high level of professionalism and quality", said Pietro Azzara, engineer and founder of Blockchain, to Xinhua. Forum Italy.
As the demand for products with the "Made in Italy" seal has grown, even the practice of beating the rules to incorrectly label packages of articles made partially or entirely outside of Italy. The use of blockchain technology will help curb this trend, said Azzara and other analysts.
"In the end, each production phase will be one of the" blocks "in the" blockchain "," said Azzara. "Manufacturers will use technology to show where each item comes from, and consumers will be guaranteed the pedigree of any product that has the" Made in Italy "brand.
Massimo Melica, a lawyer specializing in technological problems with the law firm Melica, Scandelin & Partners, said that the use of technology in this way will help both producers and consumers.
"Consumers will not only know what they are getting, but the" Made in Italy "brand will be protected by an association with products that do not meet the standards," Melica said in an interview.
Emiliano Marculi, an official of the Italian tax agency and frequent commentator on tax issues, said that the use of blockchain will help to put Italy – often a latecomer in the adoption of new technologies – to the The vanguard of a new technological wave.
"This is a technology that can make a difference in many areas," Marculi told Xinhua. "It can increase efficiency, help identify costs, make it harder to avoid taxes or take shortcuts in production, curb money laundering: there's a potential to do a lot, but we have to see how it will actually be used. "
