US Homeland Security Funds Anti-Forgery Blockchain Projects in Latest R&D Round

Oct 9, 2020 at 16:43 UTCUpdated Oct 9, 2020 at 17:26 UTC.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's research and development wing, the Science & Technology Directorate, on Friday awarded $817,712 in total to five blockchain startups in a bid to reimagine the federal government's anti-forgery and counterfeit prevention operations.

From creating digital Social Security Number alternatives to building e-commerce tracing systems, the winners have up to six months to develop blockchain proofs-of-concepts for DHS' client agencies.

S&T's Silicon Valley Innovation Program, essentially an equity-free tech accelerator within S&T, is funding the round.

Spherity GmbH received $145,000 to develop a "Digital twin" record of inbound e-commerce packages.

The German company's system would share critical information among parties without compromising privacy, SVIP said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the client.

New Zealand-based MATTR LIMITED will build U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services a digitally issued essential worker license using its $200,000 prize.

S&T officials said COVID-19's work shutdowns have proven the need for distributed, verifiable digital credentialing systems that get essential staff back to work.

SVIP veteran SecureKey Technologies has now won an additional $193,000 to create a digital alternative to the Social Security Number that gives its holder full informational control.

Mavennet Systems, also an SVIP regular, this time won $86,100 to digitally trace natural gas shipments between the U.S. and Canada, its home country.