Some clarification from one of the authors of this piece on their twitter stream [1]:

@mikejcasey are they using Bitcoin-inspired blockchain technology or "the" blockchain?

@jerrybrito THE blockchain. It's a colored coin implementation. That got lost on cutting room floor.

@mikejcasey Any more details? That is a little vague.

@brantonbits They're using the Open Assets Protocol, a colored coins implementation on top of bitcoin. That clearer?

[1] https://twitter.com/mikejcasey/status/597530065035988995