This article was originally published as an op-ed on IOL on July 28, 2026. IOL is a leading aggregation platform for news, current affairs and content in South Africa. 

Bitcoin, the digital currency that had its genesis in 2009, is often confused with blockchain technology. However, Bitcoin is not blockchain, and blockchain is not Bitcoin. Although related, the difference between Bitcoin and blockchain is not subtle. The textbook definition of blockchain states that “it is an immutable ledger that allows transactions to occur among parties in a decentralised fashion, with a mechanism to reach consensus on the shared state of the ledger”. Simply put, blockchain is a distributed “database” that is not managed by a central entity, is accessible to any interested party and records timestamped data exchanges between two transacting parties in an append-only and tamper-evident “audit-trail style log”. The append-only property implies that timestamped data entries can only be added to the log and cannot be modified after the fact. Related to this, the tamper-evident property stems from the use of cryptographic (i.e. advanced mathematical) checks and balances to flag attempts to modify data entries by a malicious actor after the data has been posted to the ledger.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

Therefore, Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies (crypto) are better classified as applications that are built on blockchain technology, analogous to how email and the web are internet applications. More specifically, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency – a digital currency that is minted (issued) on the blockchain, and whose supply is managed by an algorithm and not a centralised entity (i.e. a central bank) as is the case for traditional government-issued currency. A Bitcoin transaction can be thought of as a data exchange specifying the number of (Bitcoin) units that have been transferred between two parties (a sender and a receiver) and inscribed in the timestamped audit-trail style log for all to see. Considering that the timestamped audit-trail style log is recording an exchange of data, it follows that it can also be used for data exchanges in other domains beyond financial services, where there is a need for a single source of truth, such as supply chains.

Blockchain as a trust registry

Beyond bitcoin and crypto, blockchain has utility as a shared trust registry in multi-stakeholder environments such as supply chains. A blockchain-enabled supply chain comprises a distributed system that uses blockchain to collect, securely store and attest to key information for a product throughout its lifecycle. The network of interconnected supply chain actors and firms then has access to a single source of truth, which is append-only and tamper-evident. This improves transparency, reduces fraud, enhances end-to-end tracking (traceability) and streamlines operations. This notion of a shared trust registry has multiple applications, such as tracking and tracing food supply chains from farm-to-fork; identity management, creating and maintaining land tenure rights; measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) emissions and tracking product source and operational data via digital product passports (e.g. battery passports).

Adoption of blockchain solutions for non-crypto use cases

However, the global consensus on the adoption of blockchain solutions for non-crypto (non-financial) use cases is that it is hampered by both technical and non-technical factors. These include – the lack of availability of skilled technical resources to implement these solutions, complex and costly infrastructure requirements, lack of buy-in from management, reliance on existing legacy systems, environmental concerns and regulatory uncertainty.  Within a South African context, this is affirmed by research from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Information Systems department on blockchain adoption in Johannesburg-based small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs). This research identifies process compatibility, trading partner pressure, technical complexity, top management support, perceived benefits and organisational readiness as significant factors that impact the adoption of blockchain solutions. Further, while off-the-shelf enterprise blockchain solutions are available on the global market, they often lead to vendor lock-in due to proprietary data formats, restrictive contracts and high switching costs. In addition, off-the-shelf enterprise blockchain solutions often require significant upfront capital expenditure, are not tailored for local contexts (one size does not fit all) and do not always satisfy digital sovereignty requirements.

CSIR BlockAPI Blockchain-as-a-Service

To address these challenges affecting the adoption of blockchain solutions and promote the adoption of blockchain within SMME’s, academia and more broadly in the South African private and public sector, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed the BlockAPI Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS). This is a lightweight managed blockchain API platform that allows writing and verifying of data to the blockchain, for example, supply chain data. The BlockAPI BaaS enables SMMEs to short-circuit the steep learning curve associated with blockchain technology and cost-effectively integrate the technology into their existing business processes without the need to create, deploy and manage their own blockchain infrastructure. The benefit of seamlessly embedding a blockchain trust registry alongside existing systems without needing to replace them lowers both the barriers to adoption and financial investment required and increases the likelihood of management buy-in.

The benefits derived from using the BlockAPI BaaS include:

• Simple and low-cost write access to data to the blockchain via an API;
• The ability to confirm the integrity of data audit trails via an API;
• Integration with existing and legacy systems and business processes; and 
• Blockchain integration without vendor lock-in. 

BlockAPI BaaS in action

BlockAPI BaaS is currently at technology readiness level 6 and has been demonstrated in South African logistics, manufacturing, agriculture and financial services value chains. The demonstrations in different verticals, which highlight its simplicity and ease of integration, include: 

• A CSIR Cold Chain Track and Trace platform that uses an internet-of-things (IoT) sensor box attached to a cooler box for tracking temperature and GPS location of medical specimens between health care facilities and diagnostic facilities (i.e. health care and logistics sectors). 
• A CSIR Greenhouse Gas Observatory platform for securely monitoring emissions, piloted within an aluminium foundry (i.e. the foundry sector). 
• The CSIR ILIMA supply chain platform, which is used by smallholder farmers to manage poultry production (i.e. the agricultural sector).
• Postgraduate research projects at UCT, including one on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting by financial institutions and another on medical specimen transportation (i.e. academia).

Blockchain-based digital public infrastructure

In today’s world, where digital transformation is a source of competitive advantage and economic growth, the provision of digital public infrastructure (DPI) is a priority to accelerate participation by firms and citizens in the digital economy. The design, implementation and deployment of BlockAPI BaaS as an API-first and cloud-native trust registry service to promote adoption of blockchain in environments where data trust is critical (such as for supply chains), aligns with the ethos of DPI. Considering that BlockAPI BaaS is sector-agnostic, given the earlier-mentioned use cases, it also has the potential to be positioned as DPI for SMMEs and academia.

Key takeaways

Firstly, Bitcoin is not blockchain, and blockchain is not Bitcoin. Secondly, beyond Bitcoin and crypto, blockchain – the “timestamped, distributed, audit-style log” – provides a trusted data registry in environments that depend on tamper-proof data. Lastly, the BlockAPI BaaS platform works extremely well in supply chain solutions. BlockAPI BaaS enhances supply chain transparency, traceability and efficiency across different sectors; lowers barriers to adoption for SMMEs and can serve as a blueprint for blockchain-based foundational digital infrastructure within the country. 

The development of the BlockAPI BaaS is funded by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL.