What if you could wave your phone over a piece of fish at a storeand immediately see a record of its path through the supply chain?This may soon be possible.Current experiments are testing technologythat can show how the fish was caught,when it was shipped and how it was processed at a factory.This technology, called Blockchain, is being testedfor its potential to bring light to secretive industries in Southeast Asia.Blockchain was first developed to confirm dealings in bitcoin, a digital money.In that case, the technology creates a public financial record.In Southeast Asia important records,including those of identity information and property ownership,are often not carefully kept.Erin Murphy is the founder and leader of Inle Advisory Group,a business advisory company working in Myanmarand other countries with developing markets.She said Blockchain technology helps make business operationsin such countries safer and easier."Ideally, we would want to see adoption of Blockchainat an official level all across the region.But perhaps not surprisingly,the governments that are leading Blockchain adoptionare those that are already low-corruption," she told VOA.In some countries like Singapore, Murphy said Blockchainis being used to improve customer service processes.However in other countries, like the Philippines,Blockchain helps citizens safely send money home from foreign countries.Murphy said the technology will help development,lower poverty, and increase foreign investment.Right now, there are many programs in Southeast Asiaexperimenting with Blockchain technology.In June, the United Nations presented a Blockchain-based systembuilt in partnership with the technology company Microsoftand professional services company Accenture.The system gives stateless refugees a permanent identity recordbased on biometric data.The technology is also being explored in connectionwith efforts to improve voting system security.A Blockchain based app developed to observe the supply chain of fishfrom Indonesia is now being used with other industries, including clothing.Results from a pilot project can be found on the internet.Viewers can observe the movement of a piece of clothingfrom an alpaca farm in Dulverton, Britain,through every step of production to its final stop at a shop in London.Alisa DiCaprio is the head of research at R3,a banking software company that uses technology similar to Blockchain.She said getting the technology and being able to use it are separate issues.Most countries have engineers who can rightly code the technology, she said.However, they do not always understandhow to make it work for businesses and industries.DiCaprio predicts it will take about five yearsbefore we actually see Blockchain used widely.She said she believes the most important effects of the technologywill be seen on a macro-economic level.However, the Blockchain community is dividedon how the technology should be used.Some see Blockchain as a tool that can interferewith a global financial system they believe is corrupt."There is a serious opportunity for us hereto remove money out of government,"said a Southeast Asia based bitcoin trader.He said billions of people who are unable to use an official banking systemwill be able to move money with just a phone.Another group wants to see Blockchain technology used by states,such as Canada, Singapore, China and Germany.All of these countries are exploringor experimenting with digital money using Blockchain.Michael Hsieh is with the Center for International Securityand Cooperation at Stanford University.He suggested that Blockchain creates a threat for governmentsonly if they ignore the technology.Countries that use it to establish safe and honest systems for money exchangewill appeal to business and investment interests, he said.