Blockchain also has a market among sneaker lovers? Chronicled tells you

As blockchain enters 2016, what applications will stand out? Some people believe that proof of existence (the ability to ensure ownership and supervise the production and sales chain) is a potential breakthrough application scenario of blockchain technology. Although this prediction has not yet come true, entrepreneurs have already set their sights on this application field and have begun to create companies and enter the market.

Chronicled is a new company in this application field, and recently successfully obtained $3.42 million in investment. In September 2015, Chronicled received $1.4 million in investment. Chronicled provides anti-counterfeiting verification for users who like to collect sneakers. But how big is this user base? According to the New York Times, the buyers are "mostly men and teenagers." According to informal estimates, the secondary market value of collectible shoes in the United States alone is about $1.2 billion.

Chronicled CEO瑞恩•奥尔said:

“For us, the challenge with this authenticity verification platform that we’ve developed is how to scale it. Obviously, consumers can scan collectibles, men’s fashion, women’s fashion and verify that what they’re holding is authentic. But the question is how do you build an initial market? When we launched Chronicled, we had 30 different vertical markets in mind.”

Orr said that unlike other luxury goods markets, sneaker collection is a potential market for us.

“This market is not like the fine art market, where if you want to resell it, you have to wait five years. In this market, liquidity is strong.”

Orr also pointed out that there is a vibrant sub-industry of buyers and sellers in the sneaker collecting market, where collectors can quickly find buyers and resell the sneakers they have acquired. According to Forbes, the market price of some sneakers that are "coveted" by collectors can even increase by as much as 600%.

“There’s a very active secondary market, and we’re using that to prove the value of this authenticity platform that we’ve developed,” he said.

Three-tier strategy

To gain a foothold in the market, Orr said they plan to launch a three-tier strategy, trying to attract independent buyers and sellers, physical retailers, and finally major brands.

The cornerstone of Chronicled's offering is a custom chip that creates a private key based on a blockchain record.

“We embed cryptographic chips into collectibles so that there’s an unbreakable link between the blockchain and the collectible. However, if you just have a digital record of a collectible but don’t have a unique ID and a cryptographic link between the collectible and the record, you haven’t really solved the problem of verifying authenticity,” Orr said.

Currently, Chronicled mainly promotes chips and sells supporting data and analysis kits. By using this complete set of products, consumers can clearly see second-hand transaction data.

Initially, Orr said, they plan to build a team of people dedicated to authentication, and consumers can use the Chronicled app to authenticate their collectibles under the guidance of these people.

"We have to do this in person, and the person responsible for verification has to personally inspect a pair of sneakers, including the information on the label, the box, the invoice, etc. If there is any problem, we will not provide the authenticity label for this pair of sneakers," explained Orr.

Later, Chronicled will use point-of-sale to allow retailers to stamp collectible sneakers, and eventually, allow manufacturers to install their chips directly on sneakers.

We were surprised to learn that Orr said they have not yet chosen a blockchain platform to support their services. (I was also shocked to learn this!!)

“We decided to wait until we had enough technology convergence before announcing the launch of a specific blockchain layer,” he explained.

However, Orr said they have built several prototypes for their technology using the bitcoin and ethereum blockchains, and they have also explored permissioned distributed ledger systems.

Notably, Orr has a history in the Ripple community, where in 2014 he launched CrossCoin Ventures, an incubator for startups focused on Ripple technology.

Still, Orr isn’t worried, saying that, for now, Chronicled has a “logic layer” that makes it applicable to any blockchain.

“It’s not clear who will win,” he said, adding:

"From an integration perspective, we want to wait so we can make a logical decision."

Strategic Alliance

Looking ahead, Orr said they are looking for other ways to expand their consumer base, and the "consortium model" is one of the ways they are considering.

Orr said Chronicled could seek to form a group with major retail brands, chip companies and payment companies to explore blockchain applications together, similar to how R3CEV has united major banks to explore blockchain.

“We’re open to partnerships with brands, chip companies, and other blockchain startups that are also working in the collectibles space,” Orr said.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/chronicled-sneakers-blockchain-big-market/
By Pete Rizzo
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/blockchain-sneakers)