What, Why, Where, How, and Ways to Move Forward
Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), such as blockchains, are primarily tamper-resistant and time-stamped databases. They allow multiple parties to record, verify and share data on a peer-to-peer basis across a network, in decentralised, synchronised and transparent ways, with limited human intervention and reduced intermediate steps. These technologies are mostly known for business use cases, from cryptocurrencies to asset track and tracing. But there are numerous organisations nowadays searching for alternative ways to harness the potential of DLTs in the pursuit of public and social good, from local to global challenges, and towards more inclusive, cooperative, sustainable, ethical or accountable digital and physical worlds. This Science for Policy report explores the current status of this particular field both theoretically and empirically, in the framework of the project #DLT4Good: Co-creating a European Ecosystem of DLTs for Social and Public Good. Part I offers a conceptual overview of the connections between main features of DLTs and their potential for social and public good goals. Emphasis is placed on different approaches to decentralisation, and on core building blocks of DLTs linked with values such as trust, privacy, self-sovereignty, autonomy, inclusiveness, transparency, openness, or the commons. Part II comprises a scanning of the current European ecosystem of DLT projects with activities in this field. It contains a summarized version of a database published online with 131 projects, and a quantitative review of main trends. It also includes a qualitative assessment of 10 projects selected from the larger sample to showcase this field and its diversity. Part III concludes with six independent position papers and recommendations from experts and advisors of the #DLT4Good project. The main topics addressed range from decentralized governance to collaborative economies, with highlights on issues such as trust, verifiability, transparency, privacy or bottom-up coordination.
HASSAN Samer;
BREKKE Jaya Klara;
ATZORI Marcella;
BODÓ Balázs;
MEIKLEJOHN Sarah;
DE FILIPPI Primavera;
BEECROFT Kate;
ROZAS David;
ORGAZ ALONSO Christian;
MARTÍNEZ VICENTE Elena;
LOPÉZ MORALES Genoveva;
FIGUERAS AGUILAR Abel;
ROQUE MENDES POLVORA Alexandre;
HAKAMI Anna;
BOL Erica;
European Commission: Joint Research Centre, HASSAN, S., BREKKE, J.K., ATZORI, M., BODÓ, B., MEIKLEJOHN, S., DE FILIPPI, P., BEECROFT, K., ROZAS, D., ORGAZ ALONSO, C., MARTÍNEZ VICENTE, E., LOPÉZ MORALES, G. and FIGUERAS AGUILAR, A., Scanning the European Ecosystem of Distributed Ledger Technologies for Social and Public Good, ROQUE MENDES POLVORA, A., HAKAMI, A. and BOL, E. editor(s), Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/300796, JRC121675.
2020-10-08
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC121675
978-92-76-21578-3 (online),
978-92-76-21577-6 (print),
978-92-76-40810-9,
1831-9424 (online),
1018-5593 (print),
1831-9424,
EUR 30364 EN,
OP KJ-NA-30364-EN-N (online),
OP KJ-NA-30364-EN-C (print),
OP KJ-NA-30364-EN-E,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC121675,
10.2760/802653 (online),
10.2760/300796 (print),
10.2760/186155,
