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The blockchain element mentioned further down in the article seems intriguing, but also looks a little like window dressing. Can someone more Bitcoin literate t

by CPLX 11y ago

The blockchain element mentioned further down in the article seems intriguing, but also looks a little like window dressing. Can someone more Bitcoin literate than me explain from a practical standpoint what they are actually doing and what actual benefit is provided by the blockchain integration?

pmorici 11y ago
They could be doing any number of things but I think the general idea is that by keeping track of whatever it is they are tracking on the blockchain it would be impossible for them to modify the record after the fact. If they were keeping track of everything in a private database there is nothing except perhaps procedures they put in place from stopping someone from tampering with those records or the government accusing them of tampering with the records. Storing the records in the Bitcoin blockchain sort of puts them above reproach with regard to certain accusations.
brighton36 11y ago
Some people seem to believe that a blockchain is needed to have an append-only database. Some people believe that saying the word "Blockchain" secures more funding. I'll let you decide which of the two this fundraiser is.
roymurdock 11y ago
I was skeptical at first, but I think it's actually a smart move. Tokken is basically acting as an intermediary between dispensaries and banks, so that banks do not have to shoulder the liability of potentially laundering money. They let Tokken take on that liability instead, and absolve themselves of much of the risk. Plus they only have to conduct due diligence on one organization, rather than a bunch of disparate dispensaries. Tokken gets paid some cut of the revenue that flows through them to the banks. Let's walk through how this will probably work: Tokken faces the problem of making sure that every transaction they pass on to the banks is completely legal. They can only do this by verifying every Tokken user to make sure they have possession of a current, legal marijuana card at the time of each purchase. Only those with valid credentials will be allowed to use the payments network, otherwise the transaction will be rejected and will not be sent on to the ACH for bank settlement. A verified patient will link their credit/debit card to their Tokken account, which will track their purchasing behavior (rejecting any illegal purchases, such as too many purchases in a month, or exceeding a certain purchasing limit, etc.). They could also integrate some of the other double-checking solutions mentioned in the article: GPS tracking of each purchase tied to each user, kiosks to accept cash from Tokken card-holding users. The Tokken network will pass valid purchases along to the ACH for bank/credit card account settlement. At this point, the transaction is verified and should be considered legal enough to not trigger any money-laundering alarms. But banks still can't be 100% sure that Tokken is not simply dipping into its own database to combine valid/invalid transactions, passing dirty money that looks clean up the chain. If Tokken timestamps each transaction on the Blockchain (using some public wallet and transaction ID scheme), this adds another (large) level of security for the banks as they can verify the timestamps generated by each purchase of a user on the Tokken network. This is not foolproof either, as Tokken could claim the Bitcoin transactions are generated automatically, but could theoretically go in and generate them at will to match doctored accounting records - not likely at high levels of transactions, but still possible. Ultimately, timestamping each purchase is actually useful if Tokken can prove that it is automatic and that the company does not interfere with the mechanism in any way.

by CPLX 11y ago

pmorici 11y ago

They could be doing any number of things but I think the general idea is that by keeping track of whatever it is they are tracking on the blockchain it would be impossible for them to modify the record after the fact. If they were keeping track of everything in a private database there is nothing except perhaps procedures they put in place from stopping someone from tampering with those records or the government accusing them of tampering with the records. Storing the records in the Bitcoin blockchain sort of puts them above reproach with regard to certain accusations.

brighton36 11y ago

Some people seem to believe that a blockchain is needed to have an append-only database. Some people believe that saying the word "Blockchain" secures more funding. I'll let you decide which of the two this fundraiser is.

roymurdock 11y ago

I was skeptical at first, but I think it's actually a smart move. Tokken is basically acting as an intermediary between dispensaries and banks, so that banks do not have to shoulder the liability of potentially laundering money. They let Tokken take on that liability instead, and absolve themselves of much of the risk. Plus they only have to conduct due diligence on one organization, rather than a bunch of disparate dispensaries. Tokken gets paid some cut of the revenue that flows through them to the banks. Let's walk through how this will probably work: Tokken faces the problem of making sure that every transaction they pass on to the banks is completely legal. They can only do this by verifying every Tokken user to make sure they have possession of a current, legal marijuana card at the time of each purchase. Only those with valid credentials will be allowed to use the payments network, otherwise the transaction will be rejected and will not be sent on to the ACH for bank settlement. A verified patient will link their credit/debit card to their Tokken account, which will track their purchasing behavior (rejecting any illegal purchases, such as too many purchases in a month, or exceeding a certain purchasing limit, etc.). They could also integrate some of the other double-checking solutions mentioned in the article: GPS tracking of each purchase tied to each user, kiosks to accept cash from Tokken card-holding users. The Tokken network will pass valid purchases along to the ACH for bank/credit card account settlement. At this point, the transaction is verified and should be considered legal enough to not trigger any money-laundering alarms. But banks still can't be 100% sure that Tokken is not simply dipping into its own database to combine valid/invalid transactions, passing dirty money that looks clean up the chain. If Tokken timestamps each transaction on the Blockchain (using some public wallet and transaction ID scheme), this adds another (large) level of security for the banks as they can verify the timestamps generated by each purchase of a user on the Tokken network. This is not foolproof either, as Tokken could claim the Bitcoin transactions are generated automatically, but could theoretically go in and generate them at will to match doctored accounting records - not likely at high levels of transactions, but still possible. Ultimately, timestamping each purchase is actually useful if Tokken can prove that it is automatic and that the company does not interfere with the mechanism in any way.