The Stimson Center has partnered with DataTrails, a data provenance and transparency technology company, and True North, a software services company, to develop MATCH 2.0. This prototype distributed ledger technology (DLT) system aims to monitor and track the international trade of chemicals listed under the Chemical Weapons Convention (the Convention).
MATCH 2.0 seeks to simplify regulatory compliance for the global chemical industry by assisting national authorities in identifying and resolving discrepancies in declared transfers of commonly traded "scheduled chemicals." These chemicals have industrial applications but can also serve as precursors to chemical weapons, subjecting them to strict export controls and reporting requirements under the Convention.
The updated prototype continues enabling users to share and process data securely using DLT while providing enhanced tamper-proof transparency and ledger replication by independent verifiers.
This partnership combines DataTrails' advanced transparency services and DLT with True North's content protection services to deliver secure, traceable, and trustworthy data on global trade of monitored scheduled chemicals. DataTrails’ new technology, ‘Forestrie,’ is a purpose-built distributed ledger for supply chain integrity, transparency, and trust. It will be coupled with True North’s expertise in building secure multi-party data solutions for government and enterprise clients.
The MATCH project is a joint effort of Stimson’s Converging Technology and Global Security programs funded by Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program. The project began in September 2021 with MATCH 2.0 concluding in January 2025.
“DataTrails is excited to work with Stimson and Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program on this pilot project,” said Datatrails CEO Rusty Cumpston. “Organizations across the world are handling more data every day to make critical decisions while also complying with new data transparency and authenticity requirements.”
“This groundbreaking partnership removes data silos and forges a unified process view – a single, trusted source of truth – that will revolutionize how government agencies operate," said TrueNorth CEO Bill Pugh.
“This partnership underscores our joint commitment to harnessing technology for the greater good,” said Cindy Vestergaard, Director of the Converging Technology and Global Security program at the Stimson Center. “By joining forces with DataTrails and True North, we are revolutionizing how we monitor chemical trade in support of the Convention’s goal to prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons.”
