BNSF Railway Company (BNSF), a leading North American freight transportation company, has become the first Class I railroad to join the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

Formed in August 2017, BiTA aims to promote the adoption, education, and development of a standard framework around blockchain in the freight industry. It counts over 200 freight transportation companies as its members which includes the likes of FedEx, SAP, UPS, Salesforce, and Schneider, among others.

“Blockchain technology has the potential to change several aspects of the transportation industry and it is important that the industry comes together to align around a set of standards,” said Muru Murugappan, BNSF vice president of technology services and chief information officer. “We are excited to help drive those standards forward as a member of BiTA.”

BNSF along with the other members of BiTA will work to define what data goes into the freight transportation blockchain, how that data is formatted, how the data is structured and in what cases blockchain would be used, the official release stated.

"BNSF is one of the most important members of the North American transportation network, providing the backbone of American commerce. Their embracement of technology standards for the future of the industry will have a profound impact on the future of customer supply chains," said Craig Fuller, chief executive officer, BiTA.