Chronicled Inc., a developer of vintage sneaker authentication technologies based in San Francisco, has announced the successful completion of a $3,425,000 Series Seed funding round.

Hong Kong VC firm Mandra Capital, led the funding round, with participation from New York-based Colbeck Capital Management, and Pantera Capital, a prominent blockchain investment firm based in San Francisco.

Chronicled, with its Apple and Android authentication apps, will use the newly-acquired capital to expand its presence and to build a “first-of-its-kind encrypted BLE tagging solution”, which will register collectible items on a blockchain-based registration system.

“Authenticity verification and provenance of luxury goods and other physical items is a huge untapped market, and due to privacy concerns consumers will want to own the data history associated with their physical property, which is a benefit of a blockchain-based back-end.”

According to the press release, the company has plans to release its new authentication system in New York sometime in April of this year.

Chronicled is not just focusing on the collectible sneaker market, but has plans to expand its authentication technology to other industries as well, where consumers have a vested interest in knowing the full history of the products they purchase.

“Collectible and vintage sneakers are just the beginning.”

Various estimates peg the vintage sneaker industry at $1 billion on an annual basis, but counterfeits have become a serious issue. Song-Yi Zhang of Mandra Capital, believes that the Chronicled verification system can adequately address the counterfeiting problem:

“Chronicled represents a unique and exciting way for collectors and marketplaces dealing in high-end consumer goods to offer a guarantee of authenticity,”

If you liked this article follow us on twitter @themerklenews