Who Do You Trust? Identity, Digital Passports & the Future of Payments

Counterfeiting costs brands billions each year. From $22M in fake Hermès Birkins to untraceable champagne bottles still circulating in the market. Consumers want authenticity, regulators demand traceability, and businesses need solutions that work at scale.

In this X-Space, Provenance Tags and Concordium explore how blockchain-powered digital identities can transform products into living assets - verifiable from production to resale - while enabling privacy-preserving compliance, escrow-based payments, and entirely new consumer experiences.

The following summary breaks down the discussion section by section, from the problem of counterfeits to the launch of Concordium’s Protocol Level Tokens (PLTs), and shows how these technologies will drive real-world adoption and on-chain activity.

1. Introductions & Setup

1 Introductions Setup

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• Erasmus Hagen (Concordium) opens the session, filling in for CTO Peter, who is unavailable due to a medical issue.
• Light opening exchange with Patrick Terranea (Provenance Tags) about Dutch place names (Harlem/New Amsterdam, Brooklyn, etc.).
• Erasmus sets expectations: session will cover Provenance Tags, Concordium’s identity layer, the future of identity, and payments.

2. Provenance Tags Overview

2 Provenance Tags Overview

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• Corporate Housekeeping
  • Provenance Tags: R&D and technology backbone, led by CTO Niels.
  • Connected Future: Client-facing brand delivering smart tagging solutions and on-chain platform (built on Concordium) for products and packaging/real-world assets.
• Roles
  • Melina Tag – marketing & communications.
  • Patrick Terranea – commercial lead, Web3 strategist, new business development, long-time Concordium collaborator.
  • Erasmus introduces himself as Director of Product at Concordium, focused on building the future of finance and identity.

3. Product Journey & Tagging Example (Champagne)

3 Product Journey Tagging Example Champagne

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• Use case illustrated through champagne bottles in the wine & spirits sector.
• Each product is embedded with a digital identity at the manufacturing stage.
• Throughout the supply chain (manufacturing → transport → distribution → consumer), every scan validates authenticity, traces the journey, and enriches product data.
• This creates a “living, interactive” digital story, reconnecting producers with their products and customers.
• Products are tagged with NFC technology (can also be implemented via QR codes or microchips).
• Tag format is chosen depending on client needs and product requirements.
• Outcome: seamless tracking and value creation at every step of the supply chain.

4. Identity Layer & Concordium Differentiation 

4 Identity Layer Concordium Differentiation 1

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• Identity beyond people: Products as well as owners can be assigned identities, creating a closed loop where both sides are verified on-chain.
• Value add for products: Scans unlock more than provenance
  • Marketing content (brand story, production data).
  • Digital product passport (increasingly common in fine wine, spirits, luxury goods).
  • Environmental/transportation data (temperature, location, handling).
• Practical applications: Strengthens brand reputation, ensures regulatory compliance, prevents counterfeit, and preserves product–brand connection.
• Why Concordium
  • Trusted service providers hold verified IDs externally.
  • Transactions remain anonymous; ID only revealed by court order in case of fraud.
  • Zero-knowledge proofs allow selective disclosure (e.g., proving conditions are met without exposing sensitive data).
  • Commercial advantage: Enables trusted platforms in sensitive sectors like insurance, notary services, pharma, and high-value goods, where both privacy and accountability are essential.

5. Counterfeiting & Regulatory Drivers

5 Counterfeiting Regulatory Drivers

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• Scale of the problem: Counterfeiting is widespread and growing, especially in premium goods.
• Regulatory response: New EU regulations require stronger traceability and anti-counterfeit measures across industries.
• Illustrative cases
  • Hermès: €22M losses from counterfeit Birkin bags. A secure product ID + digital passport could authenticate each bag across its lifecycle.
  • French champagne scandal: Producer caught mixing recipes; lack of technology prevented traceability. Many bottles still circulate untraced.
• Solution: Product IDs and digital passports provide
  • Authentication for customers.
  • Transparency for regulators.
  • End-to-end protection against fake goods across the supply chain.
• Industry fit: Particularly relevant for premium sectors (luxury fashion, wines & spirits), but applicable to all regulated goods.

6. Zero-Knowledge Proofs & Privacy Concerns

6 Zero Knowledge Proofs Privacy Concerns 1

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• Concordium’s balance: Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) allow verification of attributes (e.g., age, residence, shipment conditions) without exposing full data— addressing privacy vs. transparency concerns.
• Brand concerns
  • Acceptable to track product + environmental data in transit, but brands want limits on how far tracking extends.
  • Geolocation valued pre-sale but seen as intrusive post-sale; brands request ways to disable it.
• Education gap:
  • Terms like decentralized and transparency create fear; brands misinterpret them as exposing sensitive data to everyone.
  • Requires ongoing explanation and trust-building to overcome misconceptions.
• Concept clarity: ZKPs are well-named for showing proof without leaking knowledge. Industry terminology remains confusing (e.g., wallet), which complicates adoption and communication.

7. eFulfilment, Stablecoins & Escrow Payments

7 eFulfilment Stablecoins Escrow Payments 1

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• eFulfilment innovation: Using Concordium tech to enable “verify on pay” and “verify on receipt” for goods in transit.
• Process
  • Goods (e.g., champagne) leave producer tagged.
  • Payment made in stablecoins but held until delivery is confirmed by scanning the tag.
  • Buyer verifies receipt → seller gets paid → full loop closed.
  • Yield can accrue on funds while in transit.
• Benefits
  • Lower transaction fees, instant authenticity checks, frictionless user experience.
  • Greater trust and transparency for merchants and consumers.
• Beyond parcels: Payments can be enabled directly from the product itself.
  • Example: sneakers with a digital ID → prove authenticity, pay through the product, register ownership, enable resale, unlock brand perks.
• Concordium link
  • Stablecoins launching as protocol-level tokens (PLTs) in upcoming upgrade.
  • PLTs + Concordium ID enable escrow and risk-balanced transactions.
  • Escrow settlement flexible: could be confirmed by courier, recipient, or third-party arbitrator.
• Vision: Turning physical goods into digital assets that are interactive, intelligent, and directly connected to on-chain finance.

8. Future Use Cases & Secondary Markets

8 Future Use Cases Secondary Markets

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• Short- to mid-term industries
  • Wines & spirits (champagne, whiskey).
  • Electronics and pharmaceuticals (sensitive, high-value goods).
  • Luxury fashion / haute couture.
• Whiskey example: Fractional investment in casks via NFTs; redeemable for bottles after maturation.
• Secondary markets as key driver
  • Collectibles, art, fine wines, couture, and resale platforms.
  • Provenance currently relies on middlemen and trust; Concordium + Provenance Tags provide verifiable proof.
• NFC-enabled items: Each product carries an ID chip enabling authentication, ownership transfer, resale traceability, and condition/care data.
• Integration: Solutions can plug into resale platforms, creating end-to-end traceability.
• Added layer: On-chain payments combined with product passports deliver what they call a “360 technology”: provenance + ownership + settlement.

9. Challenges in Global eFulfilment

9 Challenges in Global eFulfilment

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• Primary drivers
  • Cost reduction is the biggest pressure point.
  • Speed and trust in handover between parties are equally critical.
• Enhancements through Concordium + Provenance Tags
  • Stablecoin-based escrow with yield earned during transit.
  • Real-time product-level tracking (not just container-level), creating a verified chain of custody.
  • Simplifies management of returns, resale, refurbishment, and recycling.
• Comparison with current systems
  • Today’s fulfillment systems are fragmented, costly, and rely on outdated processes.
  • Concordium ID + zero-knowledge proofs add verification and transparency without exposing sensitive data.
• Outcome: A massive upgrade over the status quo, offering transparency, lower costs, fewer delays, and individual item-level accountability.

10. Closing Remarks & Next Steps

10 Closing Remarks Next Steps

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• Getting involved: Businesses can reach out directly via connectedfuture.io (Connected Future). 
• Provenance Tags offers broader services beyond product IDs, positioning partners to be future-proof: https://ptagchain.io
• Concordium updates
  • Protocol Level Tokens (PLTs): Launching Sept 23 with first batch of stablecoin issuers (Stably, VNX, Cope, Arise). Each offers different currency pegs and strengths.
  • Concordium ID App: Recently launched, enabling users to scan Provenance Tags and interact with product data (e.g., provenance, brand storytelling, delivery confirmations). Early-stage app with continuous releases; further announcements expected.