Blockchain in Governance—The Major Drivers

In just a few years, blockchain—the underlying technology of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies—has risen from comparable insignificance into a mainstream topic. Recognizing the immense benefits of this distributed ledger and how it can disrupt existing systems, government leaders have joined a ton of working groups to share use cases as well as best practices.

As industries and governmental agencies continue testing and adopting this immutable technology for payment processing services, supply chain management, safekeeping of records, and secure data sharing, the excitement around this technology has grown and we've witnessed, in the last couple of years, the launch of public blockchain applications ready to seamlessly onboard governments into the world of blockchain.

Blockchain in Governance

The dawn of the internet, albeit a life-changing phenomenon, is a tad bit problematic. Breach of personal data has become the order of the day, with the infamous 2017 Equifax data breach one of the most remarkable ones. As safe-keepers of records, governmental agencies have become the target for hackers and others with malicious intent. The adoption of blockchain could mitigate these risks, resulting in the safe and immutable storage of data.

Blockchain data structures are capable of hardening network security by reducing, to a greater degree, all single points of failure, in turn, making launching attacks challenging. Currently, the Department of Homeland Security is funding emerging blockchain start-ups to conduct extensive research on how best this permanent and distributed ledger can be adopted.

Blockchain is currently being used in government contracts and not surprisingly, some states in the US have shown significant interest in this new technology and have launched campaigns to leverage it. Delaware, for example, launched a progressive program that will spur the adoption and development of blockchain in both the public and private sectors. Illinois is blazing off in that path with the state government seeking to utilize the technology to transform the delivery of public and private services.

Additionally, most federal defense contractors who had reservations about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, in general, have now set up divisions solely dedicated to studying and adopting this new technology.

Blockchain in Governance—Major Drivers

The first legally approved DAO in Wyoming, BLOCKS is committed to connecting industries and enterprise-grade technologies. It specializes in the creation of automated, efficient, and decentralized solutions for organizations, in the process helping onboard them into the world of new technologies.

BLOCKS dispels entry barriers to the blockchain space, offering these companies first-hand insight and experience on how best to go about compliance and regulation. Taking things up a notch, BLOCKS has partnered with BizSecure—an immutable data service platform—to explore the implementation of verifiable credentials within DAO. This consortium, according to the brands, will improve security and trust in DAO as an organizational model with the right potential to disrupt the incumbent space.

Through this partnership, BLOCKS will power BizSecure’s core product—immutable data solution [IDS]—thus enabling public and private blockchain solutions.  This product is currently being tested in partnership with the United States Airforce, creating verifiable credentials for the Air Force powered by BLOCKS.

ConsenSys

Leveraging a full stack of enterprise tools, ConsenSys aims at building a blockchain operating system for both public and private organizations. Tailored to meet the needs of governments, ConsenSys will deliver a solution that will assign different levels of access to authorized users.

Promoting decentralization, this blockchain service provider will seek to offer;

• Identity management services for governments
• Smart regulations—agencies can create legal documents and regulations with blockchain technology
• Budget and finance management features

IBM Blockchain

Offering a range of products and services to both private and public sectors, IBM is tilting towards governance and is delivering solutions to some of the prevalent problems facing governmental institutions in the country.

It currently enables governments to create trustworthy, single collections of digital identities. This simplifies the process, aiding these agencies to reconcile data conflicts while promoting the storage of valuable information in a distributed and permanent ledger—blockchain.

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