BLOCKStrain: Three Target Markets, One Breakthrough Platform

The global cannabis industry is projected to reach nearly $150 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research, as a growing number of governments legalize marijuana. While legalization has created an overnight multi-billion dollar market for investors, consumers, cultivators, and regulators have struggled to build regulations around such a rapidly growing industry, and that has created numerous challenges across the value chain.

BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSX-V: DNAX) (OTC: BKKSF) has created the world’s first integrated blockchain platform that registers and tracks intellectual property for the cannabis industry. In doing so, the company solves many of the challenges facing consumers, retailers, cultivators, and regulators. Investors may want to keep a close eye on the company given its early traction in North America and broad appeal to multiple parts of the industry.

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Consumers & Retailers

Cannabis consumers have very little information about how certain cannabis strains will affect their body. Even worse, microbial or chemical contamination can make some cannabis outright dangerous for human consumption. There’s no way for consumers to be truly confident in their purchases—they must usually trust the brand or dispensary. Similarly, dispensaries must trust cultivators when they purchase their inventory.

BLOCKStrain’s data and certification system gives consumers the information they need to make informed decisions about the products that they purchase. Using a QR code, consumers can track the path the product has taken to retail shelves, along with the cannabinoid and terpene profiles needed to make smart decisions. They can also be confident that the product is chemically-pure and free of pesticides and molds.

For retailers and distributors, BLOCKStrain helps protect reputations by ensuring that 100% of the product going to retail has passed through all of the correct testing and screening processes. The BLOCKStrain Seal is quickly being adopted as the single source of trust for consumers, and by stocking shelves with verified products, you can inspire confidence in customers and ensure that they keep returning again and again.

Cultivators & Licensed Producers

Cannabis is a complex plant with over 400 properties that differ between strains, depending on the seed, fiber, cannabinoid content, regional or cultivation environments, growth characteristics, flavor, or terpene profile. While patents can help protect strain-related intellectual property on a theoretical level, it can be difficult to license strains to other cultivators without the risk of them cloning the plant and selling it as their own.

BLOCKStrain’s platform enables cultivators to release their varieties into the public domain without fear of losing their ownership claim or rights to be paid for intellectual property. They can easily manage and share the history of a clone, as well as the data collected during its grow cycle. In addition, the technology eases the burden of collecting and reporting administrative data to conserve resources and ensure accuracy.

For example, the company recently signed a validation testing program agreement with Harvest One Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: HVT) (OTCQX: HRVOF), a Canadian licensed producer of medical cannabis, to deploy its proprietary genome tracking software to collect and register its cannabis plant DNA and strains. The move comes after the company signed a similar agreement with WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V: WMD), another licensed producer in Canada.

Government Regulators

The cannabis industry is desperately seeking legitimacy as it moves from the illicit black market to a legalized market across a growing number of jurisdictions. Like any other consumer product, it’s only through the full faith and trust of government regulation that consumers will trust the product. The challenge for regulators is coming up with and implementing controls to ensure that products are tested and verified.

BLOCKStrain leverages immutable and secure blockchain technology, as well as proprietary track-and-trace software, to provide the validation and verification that governments require. Governments are choosing BLOCKStrain as the backbone of certification, verification, consumer reporting, and the monitoring of federally-regulated reporting. The technology is a leap forward in legitimizing the industry and ensuring compliance.

Looking Ahead

BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. (TSX-V: DNAX) (OTC: BKKSF) addresses multiple parts of the cannabis value chain, making it a cornerstone technology in compliance and quality control. Investors interested in ancillary parts of the cannabis industry may want to take a closer look at the company following its recent deal with WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V: WMD), where it rolled out the industry’s first cannabis strain validation program in Canada’s mature market.

The company’s stock also became easier to purchase in the United States after securing DTC eligibility in late February. With improved settlement for its shares, U.S. investors can easily participate in the company’s growth story via a wide range of brokers.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.blockstrain.io.

Disclaimer

The above article is sponsored content. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CannabisFN.com and CFN Media, has been hired to create awareness. Please follow the link below to view our full disclosure outlining our compensation: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.