FOR almost a decade, I have been listening to digital prophets predict a future where banks save billions of dollars, customers can trace their mangoes back to the organic farm where they were grown and financial intermediaries are a thing of the past, all thanks to the blockchain. I have been waiting for that future to arrive, but I have never come across it in my daily life.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I encountered the word “blockchain” inside a Miu Miu bag.

I had recently purchased the bag, and a little white card was tucked away in a pocket. On the piece of 100 per cent recycled fibre, it read: “This authentic Prada product’s certificate has been uploaded on Aura Blockchain Consortium’s platform to record and guarantee its integrity.”