GE’s transport branch joined Blockchain consortium

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GE Transportation announced last Thursday that it has become the last member of the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), which goal is to develop standards around the use of technology in the freight industry. With the move, GE becomes the last major firm to link to efforts, joining a list that includes UPS, FedEx and the logistics division of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com.

In a statement, the company said that it joined the group in an effort to explore the possible uses of blockchain for its operations.

GE Transportation's chief digital officer, Laurie Tolson, said that the company looked forward to the opportunity to bringing their applications to BiTA, as they collectively seek to leverage the potential of blockchain across the industries they served.

As it earlier has reported, GE's publicly-acknowledged focus on blockchain by way of its intellectual property efforts.

Last year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued five patent applications filed in 2016, in which each of them described the use of various blockchain applications to simplify the maintenance of aircraft.

GE included the ability to pay relevant parties using cryptocurrencies or some other blockchain-based system, as previously reported.