Distributed ledger certification

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• storing a distributed electronic ledger of transactions related to an item;
• storing, in an electronic data store, permission data that identifies, for each entity of a plurality of entities in a supply chain of entities authorized to perform transactions related to the item, one or more types of transactions related to the item that the entity is authorized to add to the distributed electronic ledger, wherein the permission data identifies (a) that a first entity is authorized to add records of a first type but not a second type and (b) that a second entity is authorized to add records of the second type but not the first type;
• for each entity in the supply chain of entities that performs one or more transactions related to the item,
• receiving a request from the entity to add to the distributed electronic ledger, a distributed electronic ledger record identifying a transaction related to the item;
• and
• determining that the entity from which the request is received is authorized to add the distributed electronic ledger record as requested to the distributed electronic ledger, wherein determining that the entity is authorized comprises:
• verifying a credential of the entity to participate in the distributed electronic ledger;
• identifying a type of the distributed electronic ledger record to be added to the distributed electronic ledger;
• obtaining, from the electronic data store, the permission data associated with the entity from which the request was received;
• and
• determining, based on the permission data obtained for the entity from the electronic data store, that the entity verified to participate in the distributed electronic ledger is authorized to add a distributed electronic ledger record of the type identified;
• and
• based on the determining that the entity is authorized to add the distributed electronic ledger record of the type identified, updating the distributed electronic ledger of transactions related to the item to include the distributed electronic ledger record as requested by the entity,
• wherein the distributed electronic ledger records included in the distributed electronic ledger form a verifiable history of transactions related to the item.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing specific computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:

• storing a distributed electronic ledger of transactions related to an item;
• storing, in an electronic data store, permission data that identifies, for each entity of a plurality of entities in a supply chain of entities authorized to perform transactions related to the item, one or more types of transactions related to the item that the entity is authorized to add to the distributed electronic ledger, wherein the permission data identifies (a) that a first entity is authorized to add records of a first type and (b) that a second entity is authorized to add records of a second type;
• for each entity in the supply chain of entities that performs one or more transactions related to the item,
• receiving a request from the entity to add to the distributed electronic ledger, a distributed electronic ledger record identifying a transaction related to the item;
• and
• determining that the entity from which the request is received is authorized to add the distributed electronic ledger record as requested to the distributed electronic ledger, wherein determining that the entity is authorized comprises:
• verifying a credential of the entity to participate in the distributed electronic ledger;
• identifying a type of the distributed electronic ledger record to be added to the distributed electronic ledger;
• obtaining, from the electronic data store, the permission data associated with the entity from which the request was received;
• and
• determining, based on the permission data obtained for the entity from the electronic data store, that the entity verified to participate in the distributed electronic ledger is authorized to add a distributed electronic ledger record of the type identified;
• and
• based on the determining that the entity is authorized to add the distributed electronic ledger record of the type identified, updating the distributed electronic ledger of transactions related to the item to include the distributed electronic ledger record as requested by the entity,
• wherein the distributed electronic ledger records added to the distributed electronic ledger form a verifiable history of transactions related to the item.