Real-World Blockchain Use Case: How TCS is Disrupting a $60B Transportation Problem
Todd Ziegler, CEO of Transportation Cost Solutions (TCS) hosted by Eleanor Terrett and Bob Dewey
Digital FutureFest Interview Series
This essay is based on my interview with Todd Ziegler, CEO of Transportation Cost Solutions, which I co-hosted with
(Host of ) at Digital FutureFest---the inaugural conference hosted by the CT Digital Forum. This conversation was part of a series of interviews we conducted with leading figures in the blockchain, cryptocurrency and AI space, exploring the industry's transformation as it moves from experimental technology to mainstream infrastructure.The $2 Trillion Problem Hidden in Plain Sight
When crypto skeptics ask "where's the beef?" regarding real-world blockchain applications, Todd Ziegler has an answer that touches every American household. As CEO of Transportation Cost Solutions (TCS), Ziegler is solving what he calls the "largest problem in the North American supply chain"—the crushing cost of capital that adds a hidden tax to everything we buy.
Clip describing the TCS solution
The mathematics are stark. It costs $1,500 to fill a truck with diesel, but trucking companies must wait 30 to 180 days to get paid. With 97% of trucking companies operating just one to five trucks, these small businesses sell their accounts receivable to factoring companies at annualized rates of 36 to 50 percent—costs that ultimately flow to consumers every time we shop.
Full interview here:
TCS created an on-chain solution allowing these companies to get paid in one to two business days, typically 90% cheaper than traditional factoring. "We're disintermediating the intermediary," Ziegler explains.
The Lived Experience Behind the Solution
Ziegler's path to blockchain wasn't theoretical. As an attorney who spent a decade in transportation owning a freight brokerage, he dealt with this broken system firsthand. During COVID, when he returned to Bitcoin's white paper, the connection crystallized: "this whole thesis is about disintermediating third parties, creating faster, cheaper settlement business to business, peer to peer."
Working with the University of Wyoming's advanced blockchain lab, TCS minted a token and settled the world's first freight invoice on-chain at the end of 2022. Today, they're processing real transactions with real trucking companies, including a 20-truck Chicago operation with a female owner whose story exemplifies the small business impact.
Making Crypto Invisible
The genius of TCS's approach lies in making blockchain infrastructure completely transparent to users. Companies simply set up a wallet and account at the INX exchange—"the equivalent of setting up a second business checking account." They sell invoices like they would to a factoring company, receive payment in TCS tokens, and convert back to USD with two clicks.
"If I sent you an email right now, can you explain to me how that happened?" Ziegler asks. "You and I have no idea how the back end of that communication just happened, but we know that it works, so we utilize it. Same thing here."
The Banking Discrimination Challenge
Despite solving a legitimate business problem and being invited to the White House in March to discuss reducing goods prices, TCS was debanked by a top-10 US bank during Operation Choke Point. The irony is palpable—a company working to reduce costs for American consumers was cut off from the financial system for using blockchain technology.
The company survived through a Wyoming credit union that understood they weren't engaged in illicit finance. This experience highlights how regulatory uncertainty pushed legitimate innovation offshore, even when blockchain solutions addressed genuine American economic problems.
Scaling the Solution
With TCS's token listed on the INX exchange as of March 2025, the company projects over $100 million in inflows by year-end. Their target is the $60 billion freight factoring market dominated by what Ziegler describes as slow, expensive, antiquated services that "customers hate."
Unlike factoring companies that lock carriers into long-term agreements, TCS offers non-exclusive terms. "If you don't like faster and cheaper settlement, if you don't like getting paid same day with two clicks on an exchange, you can go right back to what you were doing."
The Path Forward
Ziegler's story suggests blockchain's future lies not in replacing traditional finance entirely, but in solving specific friction points where current systems fail. The TCS model—identify a real problem, build a solution that works, make the technology invisible—offers a template for the next wave of blockchain adoption.
For an industry often criticized for lacking practical applications, TCS represents the kind of Main Street use case that regulators say they want to see. It's not about financial engineering or speculation, but using blockchain rails to create economic efficiency in an industry touching every American's daily life.
The inflection point for blockchain may come not from grand proclamations about paradigm shifts, but from quiet solutions to everyday problems. In Todd Ziegler's hands, that's exactly what's happening—one truck, one invoice, one settlement at a time.
Stay tuned for more insights from Digital FutureFest as we continue to explore how blockchain technology is solving real-world problems across industries.
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