[seibelj]

Suppliers at every step of the chain enter data into a blockchain. Every organization runs a node. Therefore they can’t lie later and tamper with records when something goes wrong. Investigators can trace provenance easier. That’s it really. An append-only cryptographically secure database would do that same thing, but that’s just another name for a blockchain, which is a rebranding of a specific type of distributed database that has enhanced trust properties.

[tomrod]

Blockchain requires distribution for trustless implementation though, which is the duplicated expense (versus an append-only secure database).

[Alex3917]

> Blockchain requires distribution for trustless implementation though, which is the duplicated expense

Trust scales with something like Metcalfe's Law. E.g. a consortium of ten independent banks is probably 99% less likely to steal my money than just Wells Fargo. The idea that we need millions of independent entities to get substantially better security than the status quo is just propaganda that gets spread by Bitcoin maximalists.

There is a cost of duplication, but at the level of duplication you actually need the cost isn't that much compared to the benefit.