There’s a lot of hype surrounding blockchain technology and its potential applications in a wide variety of fields. From governance to finance and HR to cryptocurrencies, the decentralized character of blockchain can do away with the cumbersome bureaucracy of middlemen while maintaining and even increasing the trustworthiness that centralized authorities are meant to provide.

In the case of Cannabium, the benefits of blockchain are being harnessed to the cannabis market, while simultaneously representing an innovation in the world of blockchain itself.

Cannabium is a new ICO with a crypto token of the same name that’s backed by a cannabis product — the first of its kind for blockchain cryptocurrencies. The product is CBD, a valuable extract from the cannabis plant that is part of a booming market (projected to potentially reach $2.1 billion globally by 2020, according to Forbes) as belief in its medicinal potential finds greater recognition in the public sphere. The CBD that backs Cannabium is produced in Colombia and sold around the world while Cannabium token holders are entitled to receive as much as 20% of the potential profits during the yearly profit revenue event.

Public blockchains are well-suited for use in commercial buying and selling. Since blockchains don’t need intermediaries like banks, overhead costs are reduced while Cannabium holders get the opportunity to support the legal cannabis movement and cash in on the potentially lucrative market.

So, Cannabium is essentially bringing the advantages of blockchain technology to facilitate the growth of the cannabis market. And what does blockchain get from this symbiotic relationship? Blockchain gets its very first token backed by a real-world cannabis commodity as well as a pricing mechanism for an emergent product.

Cryptocurrencies are still considered the wild-west of finance thanks to their volatility and lack and regulation. By backing its token by a real product with inherent value in an already well-established market, Cannabium offers far more stability and credibility that other cryptocurrencies, reducing the risk of volatility.

The Cannabium project was born with the premise of aiding cannabis markets on both the physical and financial fronts. Funds from the sales of Cannabium tokens are reinvested in cannabis production facilities and infrastructure, while holders get a stable token and a share of the profits.

Blockchain is capable of many diverse functions. For cannabis, it means a new source of revenue and growth that will result in further market reach and the increased availability of legal cannabis and the medicinal benefits many believe it has.