IBM kicked off its Think 2018 conference on March 19 and it made a bombshell announcement on March 20: It has made the world's smallest computer, and it's designed from the ground up to work with the blockchain. The computer itself is smaller than a single grain of salt, coming in at 1 millimetre by 1 millimetre and reportedly has about the same computing power as a 1990s era CPU.

The computer will cost less than ten cents to manufacture, and will also pack "several hundred thousand transistors," according to the company. These will allow it to "monitor, analyze, communicate, and even act on data."  Each computer can hold as many as one million transistors, while network communication is handled by LEDs and a solar cell provides power. 

© IBM

Feature-wise, the computer has a processor with “several hundred thousand” transistors, SRAM memory, a photovoltaic cell for power, and a communications unit that uses an LED and a photo-detector to talk with the outside world.

The first of these tiny computers could be available for customers within 18 months, according to IBM, which sees them playing a role in food safety, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, genetically modified goods, expensive wines, and in the luxury goods market.

© IBM

Essentially, these CPUs will be embedded in tags or product packaging, and they'll log every movement the product makes, from shipment to delivery. They could also be used to ensure the authenticity of luxury goods. The company boasts that the small-scale computer could help combat the $600 billion a year trade in counterfeit drugs, gadgets, and cash.

Think of them like the barcodes on items in the grocery store. But instead of communicating price info, these CPUs could tell you everything about the product. 

“Within the next five years, cryptographic anchors — such as ink dots or tiny computers smaller than a grain of salt — will be embedded in everyday objects and devices,” says IBM's Arvind Krishna. “They'll be used in tandem with blockchain's distributed ledger technology to ensure an object's authenticity from its point of origin to when it reaches the hands of the customer.”