Amazon Biobank: Assessing the Implementation of a Blockchain-Based Genomic Database

The bioeconomy, an industrial production model based on biological resources and sustainable development, can be considered an emerging opportunity for biodiversity-abundant regions, such as the Amazon rainforest. However, existing genomic repositories lack data traceability and economic benefit-sharing mechanisms, resulting in limited motivation for data providers to contribute. To address this challenge, we present an implementation of Amazon Biobank, a community-driven genetic database. By leveraging blockchain and peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies, we enable distributed and transparent data sharing; meanwhile, by using smart contracts directly registered in the system, we enforce fair benefit-sharing among all system participants. Moreover, Amazon Biobank is designed to be auditable by any user, reducing the need for trusted system managers. This paper aims to validate this model, by describing the implementation of a prototype using Hyperledger Fabric and BitTorrent and evaluating its performance. Our results show that the prototype can support at least 400 transactions per second in a small network, a number that can be further improved by adding new nodes or allocating additional computational resources. We conclude that the Amazon Biobank proposal is technically feasible, and its real-world deployment has the potential to foster sustainable development in high-biodiversity regions, in addition to promoting collaborative biotechnology research.