6 Making Sense of Blockchain: How Firms Can Chart a Strategic Path Forward ^Top banks, insurers, utility providers, etc. This move would provide stakeholders with access to authentic real-time data on customers, delivering a holistic picture of customer finances. Apart from providing process and cost efficiencies, blockchain can transform automatic triggering and delivery of financial services. Blockchain allows the terms of a contract to be encoded on the application so that only transac- tions in compliance with those terms can be recorded. These smart contracts encapsulate all the rules of interaction among participants in the blockchain network. Information such as terms of operations between participants, their rights, consensus requirements, product and pricing information, and so forth are written into the code, allowing transactions to be executed automatically without the need of a verifying body. When smart contracts are paired with shared proofs of identity, then verifi- cation and authentication of transactions can become fully automated. For example, ST Aerospace has piloted a blockchain-based 3D-printing solution that verifies design purchases from the U.S. as genuine and from the right source.5 Digital rights management makes the design file tamper-proof. Smart contracts identify the right materials and printing techniques, then im- mediately trigger printing on a 3D printer in ST’s Singapore facilities using its laser metal process. Similarly, the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation agencies have a critical need to establish the provenance of aircraft parts. By digitizing this tracing process in a tamper-proof way, these agencies can save cost and time while ensuring better quality. Nasdaq has launched its own payment platform that verifies and executes trading transactions based on smart contracts. The platform also automates 5 Agam Shah, “Trust in the Supply Chain,” Mechanical Engineering Magazine, May 2018, 30-35. Blockchain's transparency creates trust among participants, paving the way to business model transformation.