IBM, Maersk Snuff Blockchain Project Due to Lack of Interest

IBM and Maersk are canning supply chain project TradeLens after four years, raising questions about the viability of enterprise blockchains

article-image

Source: Dall-e

share

IBM and Danish shipping giant Maersk are scuttling a four-year-old enterprise blockchain project designed to track global trade — another hint that distributed ledger solutions may not yet be viable in the wild.

TradeLens is a blockchain-based logistics platform aimed at digitizing supply chains. It was launched in 2018, a time when multiple economic sectors, including global shipping, sought to revamp various processes with centralized blockchain solutions — most of the time without associated cryptocurrencies.

Hundreds of major companies had signed on to TradeLens at its height. Those included intermodal carriers such as BNSF Logistics and major port operator MSC — the second largest shipping company after Maersk.

TradeLens will be ending by the close of Q1, 2023, the companies said in a Tuesday statement.

“Unfortunately, while we successfully developed a viable platform, the need for full global industry collaboration has not been achieved,” Rotem Hershko, Maersk’s head of business platforms, said.

As such, TradeLens has been unable to attain the level of commercial viability required to continue operating. The project ultimately fell short of financial expectations, undermining its future as a standalone business.

TradeLens was built on IBM proprietary blockchain software which leveraged Hyperledger Fabric, an open-source framework from the Linux Foundation.

Enterprise blockchain networks such as TradeLens are far more centralized than major protocols such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. They’re usually entirely permissioned (private), maintained and controlled by a small group of entities (and often just one), rather than hundreds or thousands of unrelated network participants all working together to maintain consensus.

Jointly built by IBM and GTD Solution — a division of Maersk — TradeLens’ intention was to promote efficiency and secure global trade.

Maersk said it would continue efforts to digitize the supply chain and further industry efficiency using other solutions, without mentioning specifics. Blockworks has reached out for comment.

“We will leverage the work of TradeLens as a stepping stone to further push our digitization agenda and look forward to harnessing the energy and ability of our technology talent in new ways,” Hershko said.

TradeLens joins a number of other enterprise blockchain projects hitting a brick wall. Earlier this month, the Australian Securities Exchange nixed a blockchain-powered system designed to replace its aging settlement layer after nearly three years of development, having spent around $170 million on the cause.

That followed Microsoft ending its Azure blockchain service last year. The platform was launched in 2015 to help companies to deploy their own permissioned blockchain networks.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /