BTC Wires: A former lingerie and fashion model, Jessica VerSteeg
BTC Wires: A former lingerie and fashion model, Jessica VerSteeg has used her tragic experience of witnessing a lover go through the extreme pain of injuries and being denied the use of medical marijuana, to develop a blockchain solution to make end-to-end, credible cannabis transactions possible through the use of a blockchain solution. She is the CEO and the person responsible for conceptualising Paragon, a pioneering blockchain platform built to deal with only the cannabis sector. With a digital currency called the ParagonCoin (PRG) and a blockchain solution called ParagonChain for the purpose of making marijuana supply possible over a digitized ledger with increasing efficiency and speed. It will soon also open a cannabis co-working space, the first of its kind, in Los Angeles in September 2018.
Earlier, VerSteeg had founded AuBox, a start up for delivering weed-based products based on subscription with confidentiality and reliability. Eventually, she came up with the idea of using blockchain and although she originally dubbed it AuChain, she gradually moved towards planning something larger, in the form of Paragon. Usually, a great deal of restrictions are imposed on use of weed by regulatory authorities and that impedes ability of buyers and sellers from using traditional avenues of transactions. Banks and other institutions steer clear of anything to do with the substance since it is usually rated as an illegal drug and it is believed that association with businesses dealing in it can potentially attract federal charges.
Paragon doesn’t physically deal in actual marijuana but only provides the technological support for it. Therefore, strictly speaking, it is not committing a felony. Use of blockchain can make sure that transactions remain discreet as well as credible. Customers using this facility are at a much lower risk of being short-changed by dealers who are not monitored or regulated by any authorities and can hence charge and supply products on a one-sided basis, without any regard for the interests of the consumers. Green Helix, a company for CBD based products from West Hollywood, is soon to start leasing ParagonSpace and it appears that the platform is looking at increasing growth in the coming days. With blockchain being adopted in more and more fields, this is perhaps one of the most unique uses it has seen in a while.