IBM is teaming up on blockchain with the world's largest shipping company

• Shares of IBM gained about 1% Tuesday morning after the computer and software giant announced a blockchain partnership with Denmark's Maersk, the world's largest shipping company.
• The two companies will create an industry-wide trading platform that could speed up the movement of goods while saving billions of dollars by eliminating the "enormous trail of paperwork and bureaucracy" that comes with international shipping, Reuters reports.
• "The big thing that is missing from this industry to digitize and unleash the potential of the technology is really to create a form of utility that brings standards across the entire ecosystem," Maersk's Chief Commercial Officer Vincent Clerc told Reuters.
• Blockchain is the technology that powers cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and Maersk is far from the only company to see benefit from the trendy decentralized ledgers. Banks, manufacturers, and even iced tea companies have announced new focuses on blockchain - and many have seen their stocks soar in response.
• Shares of Maersk are up about 0.54% on Copenhagen's stock exchange.

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