Blockchain in Aotearoa

are distributed ledgers the future for our regulators and policymakers?

Abstract

Blockchain technology has been moving beyond cryptocurrency into new areas internationally, with substantial investment from both the private sector and government, including private sector projects in Aotearoa. However, there is not yet clear evidence of successful use cases at scale. The technology offers important benefits through creating tamper-proof records of transactions, and major drawbacks of public networks like bitcoin, such as massive power consumption, do not seem to apply to regulatory uses based on private blockchain networks. But there is debate over whether the technology is as secure as its proponents claim. In exploring blockchain’s potential, regulatory designers will want to carefully consider more conventional alternatives such as distributed databases.