As blockchain technology continues to evolve, industries are exploring its potential beyond cryptocurrency, particularly in areas like anti-counterfeiting and supply chain management. The ability to provide transparency and security across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, high-end consumer goods, and government services is driving interest in blockchain solutions, according to a tech industry leader.
“Blockchain offers immense possibilities in combating counterfeit products by enabling real-time tracking and verification across the supply chain,” said Akshay Dhoot, Co-Founder of Digi Lion Technologies, in an interview with TechObserver.in.
“With its scalability and tamper-proof nature, blockchain can transform how industries ensure product authenticity and consumer safety,” he added, highlighting the broader potential for blockchain adoption across various sectors.
Edited Excerpts:
Can you share what inspired the development of ‘Gravity’ and how you see its impact on industries beyond FinTech?
Gravity is currently the world’s fastest blockchain in terms of transactions per second. The reason we created such a high-speed blockchain platform is that, until now, blockchain has been primarily associated with cryptocurrencies. However, cryptocurrencies have not reached mainstream use, especially in day-to-day activities like paying for meals or salaries, mainly because governments have not regulated or recognised them as legal tender.
We saw a much broader potential for blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies, especially in industries like government and enterprise where record-keeping and tracking are crucial. One of the biggest challenges with blockchain so far has been scalability, which is why most implementations have been limited to proofs of concept. We developed Gravity to overcome this issue and make it scalable enough to be used across various sectors and governments in a plug-and-play mode.
With advanced technologies like blockchain, security and user-friendliness are often challenges. How does Digi Lion address these issues in its solutions?
One of our core values is simplicity. Technology should make life easier, not more complicated. For example, our solution, Holograph, is a supply chain management tool that uses blockchain to track products. We have designed the user interface to be extremely simple, so that with just five to seven minutes of explanation, anyone can understand how to use it. When people hear the term blockchain, they often think it is complex, but the key is to make the user interface intuitive, whether it is for a mobile phone, laptop, or tablet. Simplicity and ease of use are crucial for us.
Blockchain is being explored for anti-counterfeiting, particularly in industries like pharmaceuticals. How do you see it contributing to this area, and can you share any real-world examples?
Absolutely, the pharmaceutical industry is a perfect example. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly 20% of all medicines globally are counterfeit, which poses a serious health risk. Blockchain can play a vital role here by serialising and QR coding every strip of medicine. This data is then tracked at every stage—from manufacturer to distributor to retailer.
If a consumer scans the QR code on a product, they can verify its authenticity in real time. This transparency builds consumer confidence and helps to ensure that people are not buying counterfeit medicines. This same approach can be extended to other sectors like luxury goods, alcohol, and even food products. Blockchain provides the necessary transparency and tamper-proof security to tackle these issues effectively.
How have your partnerships with enterprises and governments contributed to Digi Lion’s growth, and what are your plans moving forward?
We have been working on proof of concepts (POCs) with various organisations in industries like tyre manufacturing, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, we are at a pilot stage, where enterprises are testing our solutions, and we are confident that these will lead to full-scale implementations soon.
Governments are also showing great interest in blockchain for applications like land and health records. Various state governments in India are exploring digitisation through blockchain, and we are participating in several tenders. Blockchain has the potential to make public services more transparent and efficient, and we are excited to contribute to that.
Blockchain adoption can be slow in some sectors, particularly due to regulatory challenges. How do you view the role of the government in accelerating this process?
Yes, I agree. While the government has not fully adopted blockchain in financial regulations, we are already seeing its use in other areas. For instance, in the telecom industry, all SMS traffic from enterprises is scrubbed using blockchain technology. The volume of these transactions is massive—70 to 90 billion messages per month—far exceeding global cryptocurrency transactions. This shows that blockchain has much wider applications beyond crypto, and as more sectors adopt it, public understanding and trust in the technology will grow.
The government is already taking steps to explore blockchain for applications like health and land records, and we expect to see more adoption in the near future.
How has Digi Lion’s journey been so far, and what are your priorities for the next couple of years?
Digi Lion was incorporated about 18-20 months ago, and our products were ready just six months back. In this short time, we have seen strong interest from both the government and enterprises. Although we are still pre-revenue, we have a very strong pipeline and have conducted several successful POCs. We are confident that within the next two years, we will have projects in multiple countries, particularly in the US and Middle East.
We recently participated in a government blockchain showcase in Virginia, USA, and the World Blockchain Summit in Dubai. Both events generated significant interest, and we expect to have a few projects in these regions soon. Of course, India remains our base, and we anticipate strong growth here as well, particularly with government projects.
