Open AccessBlockchain in Aotearoa
Author(s) -
Kevin Jenkins
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
policy quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2324-1101
pISSN - 2324-1098
DOI - 10.26686/pq.v16i2.6483
Subject(s) - blockchain , cryptocurrency , aotearoa , government (linguistics) , private sector , business , investment (military) , computer security , scale (ratio) , commerce , economics , computer science , political science , law , economic growth , geography , cartography , linguistics , philosophy , politics
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.