Blockchains for Government: Use Cases and Challenges

Blockchain is technology that builds a trustworthy service in an untrustworthy environment. It uses replication of distributed systems to build a decentralized service that achieves the same goals with a trusted centralized one. Since 2008, blockchain implementation has exploded, primarily driven by its native ability to support any type of digital transaction. Blockchains have been adopted by Wall Street investment firms to enable transaction cost reduction, Silicon Valley startups as an alternative means of raising funds through initial coin offerings, and by one government, Venezuela, to encourage global investment into the country. The algorithms that power these distributed transactions have given rise to an altogether new method for securely storing data in a digital world that is oftentimes adversarial. Because blockchain guarantees high service availability as well as data integrity, any industry in which transactions or processes rely on the use of a trusted third party, or where a strong guarantee of security is required, can consider implementing blockchain solutions, as should governments worldwide.

Interested in blockchain? Check out this GovWhitePapers blog post! You can also find events on blockchain on our sister site, GovEvents.