This NFT project figured out how to put physical items on the blockchain (?)

The line between the physical world and the digital world is getting blurrier by the day.

Azuki - the animé-inspired NFT project - has just launched the 'Physical Backed Token' ($PBT) with the aim to enable ownership of physical items on the blockchain.

There are plenty of examples of digital items representing items you would ordinarily see IRL (think, all of the items you see in video games or the metaverse).

Now, however, physical items can be authenticated and tracked using the Ethereum blockchain.

The Azuki team also announced the launch of the ‘BEAN Chip’; a chip that can be scanned to allow the physical item to be added to the blockchain, and be easily transferred when the item changes hands.

They call it ‘scan-to-own.’

Here’s what $PBT could mean for Web3:

• This isn’t entirely new - VeChain has been around since 2015 and it uses its own blockchain to track physical items from warehouse to retailer (we’d know, next edition of Over The Shoulder is all about it).
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  But, where VeChain focuses on businesses, Azuki is focusing on consumers. Plus, $PBT can learn from VeChain’s past mistakes.
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• This innovation could be huge for helping people to trust that the products they buy are the real deal.
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  If physical items are authenticated on the blockchain, no more buying a Rolex from Craigslist because it’s a ‘good deal,’ only to receive a fake.
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• Azuki says with $PBT, people will be able to “join real-life quests.”
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  ...no idea what that means, but we're keen to find out!

Overall, very cool, let’s see if it gets adopted.