Blockchain Taskforce In Jackson Tn
Mayor Scott Conger recently announced that he will create a taskforce to explore the feasibility of implementing a blockchain system as a way to record transactions such as tax payment and the payment of employees. Additionally mayor Conger sees potential in blockchain as a tech job creator saying, I think when we talk about 21st century jobs, we talk about 21st century businesses. The city itself, we have to show we are ready to welcome those businesses to Jackson.
Central Bank Digital Currencies
CBDCs offer a way for central banks to improve management of the money supply by, for example, quickly and efficiently getting money into the hands of citizens and businesses in the event of a liquidity crisis. CBDCs also make it possible for governments to offer a higher level of transparency into the money supply, even potentially introducing hard limits on money issuance and government spending.
What Are The Benefits Of Blockchain For Government Services
It will be wrong to say that Blockchain today is what the internet was in 1995.
While the possibility of reformation that the Internet has brought is the same as what Blockchain carries, the difference is in the role the two groundbreaking technologies play Internet on the foreground and Blockchain on the background.
Like in so many other places, the possibilities of using blockchain for government services and public sectors will be behind the scenes, where it will operate to make government bodies efficient, secure, speedy, and trustworthy.
The result blockchain-based digital government however, will be visible in every interaction that the public will have with the decentralized system.
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Straighten Your Back And Cherish With Coffee
Blockchain has gained a spectacular success in a short time. Since its launch, it has been on the headlines and expecting it to be one of those trending technologies that would make a marvelous impact on the fast-paced digital world. Blockchain has been a game-changing technology that is underpinned with cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin that eventually closed the doors for hacking activities. Not just with blockchain software development companies, it is also very helpful in E-Governance sectors.
Blockchain Technology Use Cases For State And Local Government
There are numerous blockchain technology use cases, and many state governments are pursuing blockchain initiatives. In 2018, a total of 18 states introduced some form of legislation related to blockchain technology and nine bills became law, according to a tally from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
For example, Colorados Department of State is now required to consider research, development, and implementation for encryption and data integrity techniques, including distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain. A law in Tennessee now recognizes the legal authority to use blockchain technology and smart contracts in conducting electronic transactions.
And a Wyoming law authorizes corporations to use electronic networks or databases for the creation or maintenance of corporate records.
The NASCIO report notes that early applications of blockchain technology are circumstances involving audit audit trail necessary record of information lineage multiple systems or databases that must be reconciled due to recording errors managing physical or digital assets managing ownership managing contracts or agreements involving many secondary parties.
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How Banks And Financial Institutions Are Using Blockchain Technology
The tremendous rise in cryptocurrencies and digital wallet has instigated banks and other financial institutions to adapt to the current trend. It is a dire need for the banks to allow professional investors to trade valuable assets in a secured and transparent platform across the world. The banking industry has finally adopted blockchain technology due to its potential implications for the global commerce ecosystem. The open-sourced software allows multiple investors to have simultaneous access to the updated public ledger without any probability of alteration in transactions. Blockchain technology has revolutionized the banking sector from the traditional methods of securities to hi-tech securities. It also enhances efficiency and security without any third-party intervention. Thus, multiple banks have started launching smart contracts that involve the parties to accept the deals with each other. These smart contracts allow any digital information to store and give access to parties with a set of laws. Lets look at how banks and other financial institutions are using blockchain technology.
Thus, it can be seen that blockchain technology is the future of banks and financial institutions with upgraded regulations, hi-tech security, proper identity verification, and reduced transaction fees in a fast payment process.
National And Enterprise Blockchain Projects Are Stacking Up
Global governments are falling over themselves to commission blockchain projects. Last week, the Canadian government awarded a contract for steel tracking onchain, and at Davos there was widespread talk of using blockchain for data collection and environmental solutions. Most Davos experts seem to agree that blockchain tech is best used for data collection rather than self-sovereign finance, read one media tweet from the event, prompting Neeraj Agrawal to retortExperts agree blockchain tech is better for the thing no one has used it for rather than the only thing its been used for.
Governments may envision vastly different use cases for blockchain than those favored by the crypto community, but they appear earnest in their desire to deploy distributed ledger technology. So too do the enterprises interested in utilizing and fostering blockchain adoption. In addition to the Canadian government inking a $130K deal for an onchain steel-tracking blockchain, the past week has seen Hyperledger launch a climate action special interest group dedicated to advancing DLT for governments and businesses to monitor emissions. Other entities to have recently gotten in on the blockchain game include Thailand, whose government is integrating blockchain technology into its new e-visa system.
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How Would Blockchain Work In Government
In this section, we move beyond the basics to look at how blockchain technology could transform government processes and experiences.
To illustrate, consider customs in international logistics, which spans a number of government operations and the commercial world and involves multiple transactions. A prominent pain point for many parties involved is the absence of effective traceability, transparency, and predictability of shipments coming in through the nations ports. This lack of information can add to costs and sap operational performance. As traditional supply chains become more digitized, though, the shipping process generates and captures many new data points, offering possibilities for improving the process and sharing information. Using a blockchain for transparent, end-to-end manifesting could have transformative impact throughout the supply chain. For customs agencies around the world, it could mean eliminating delays in definitively identifying shippers moving through customs, and improving inspection target compliance via greater data accessibility.
Why Are Blockchain Experiments In The Public Sector Growing Globally
A public sector is a complex infrastructure due to a lack of decentralization. Blockchains may be used in existing systems to fix inefficiencies and improve the reliability of public service delivery. It can be leveraged to streamline processes and increase transparency and accountability in the government and the public sector. Moreover, technology can help back-office functions help coordinate and streamline tendering and purchasing across several departments. Blockchain is gaining a lot of public attention due to the fact that it provides an unbroken and timely record of information in real-time. It makes it impossible to make any changes, thus reduces the chances of fraud. Making records permanent ensures reduced chances of fraud and error, thus increasing accuracy and simplifying back-end processes while delivering huge benefits in efficiency and productivity.
Looking for the best Blockchain Certifications? Checkout Blockchain Council.
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Government Uses Blockchain To Certify Provide Startups With Incentives
The government has leveraged blockchain technology to digitally certify startups and help them receive a range of incentives, such as financing assistance, tax exemptions and relaxations in public procurement norms without much hassle. Blockchain is a decentralised , distributed and immutable public ledger.
The blockchain-enabled certificate verification platform, which has been developed by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade , will also facilitate aspiring entrepreneurs to access the 10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups , a ministry of commerce and industry official, requesting anonymity, said.
FFS, which provides risk capital to innovation-driven enterprises, is managed by Small Industries Development Bank of India . FFS was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2016.
The technology to verify startups will come handy for various government departments, public sector firms, banks and investors as it is in sync with Startup Indias legacy data to verify over 50,000 recognition certificates, the ministry official said.Startup India is a flagship initiative of the government to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and generate large scale employment opportunities.
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Transparency And Trust Factor
__________
Citizens do not trust the governing bodies. A study found that the percentage of trust put by Americans in its government is only 18%.
This happens mostly because people are not aware of how the government is taking decisions and based on which factors.
Blockchain in public-sector removes this barrier of mistrust and secrecy by distributing the central governing body into a distributed network which ensures the publics trust in the system. This decentralization allows the participating members to see and verify data.
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Why Governments Should Be Using Blockchain
Blockchain is much more than Cryptos, and governments and entrepreneurs are collaborating to solve… the world’s problems
JJ Ying Unsplash
Cryptocurrency has had a lot to answer for in recent years. Bitcoin, Ethereum et al have hardly been out of the headlines since their inception, culminating in the Crypto Crash of 2018 that shocked die-hard fans and investors – but the real victim in all the ensuing chaos was blockchain. As the foundational technology behind cryptocurrencies, blockchain was immediately equated with them, and when public sentiment for cryptos tanked blockchain went with it.
Blockchain, however, is far more than just cryptocurrency, and renewed interest in the technology could help prove its worth beyond the crypto bubble. With real-world examples hard to come by, governments, corporations and those wielding the most influence must collaborate to bring blockchain out of the cryptocurrency doldrums. But can proponents of the technology strike the perfect balance and give blockchain a new life?
Hacking out a solution
E-Estonia: A case study
What is a government to do?
Future first
How Blockchain Can Transform Government
The hyper-connectivity that can now be seen in the world around us, has not just given birth to more data but has also brought in a significant transformation in how the economy is now operating and interacting.
This era of constant change and the economical shift is demanding the government to become more transparent, efficient, cost-conscious, and real-time, which translates into a government that is truly citizen centric.
Now, meeting this newly emerged demand will call for a shift that would shake the grounds of a bureaucratic government body. A shift that will only be made possible by fostering the induction of a secure blockchain architecture and other features of this technology.
The many benefits of a Decentralized Government revolve around making government bodies more efficient, in not just how they work but also in where they stand on the public loyalty chart.
The blockchain use cases in government and the public sector are majorly centered around three of the technologys core areas:
The role of blockchain for government services when these three core areas are used either in combination or individually affect a plethora of areas, with three of the most nation impacting ones being:
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The Challenge Comes Down To Data Management
Governments, like all large organizations, struggle to coordinate processes across disparate stakeholders. More than most organizations, however, governments are expected to provide transparency, fairness, and accountability to the public. To be successful in these endeavors, particularly in the digital era, the challenge comes down largely to data management. Unfortunately, legacy centralized data management tools do not sufficiently meet the challenges governments face. Security of data is compromised by the single point of failure in the standard client-server model, and transparency is difficult to achieve where government databases are centralized. The result, for most governments, is slow, inefficient, and opaque operations for everything from land title registration to voting.
Leveraging a new data management structure one that uses distributed ledgers supported by blockchain and cryptography governments can offer citizens the streamlined, on-demand services they have become accustomed to in the digital era. At the same time, governments can go above and beyond the tech-giants by offering not only improved data security, but also unprecedented transparency and accountability.
Here are just some of the use cases of blockchain technology that governments and the public sector can apply:
Exploring Blockchain Technology For Government Transparency: Blockchain
In partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia , the Forum has led a multistakeholder team to investigate, design and trial the use of blockchain technology for corruption-prone government processes, anchored in the use case of public procurement. The project, led by the Blockchain and Digital Currency team housed within the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is called Unlocking Government Transparency with Blockchain Technology.
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Building Platforms To Store And Exchange Data
Russia is working on the first national network for storing and exchanging financial data. Dubbed Masterchain, the project enables players in the financial market to unite and have a platform where they can implement new innovative financial services.
The project was created by Russias Fin-Tech Association, in collaboration with 14 large banks.
According to the projects whitepaper, switching to Masterchain in processing contracts will reduce operating costs and operating time by up to 5 times!
Additionally, the project will produce a Know-Your-Customer mechanism based on digital identity, to enable banks to share credit history and information about fraud cases without compromising bank secrecy.
China is another nation working on a similar project of its own. The countrys platform has been developed by CBA , in conjunction with several leading Chinese lenders.
The primary purpose of this platform is to enable convenient inter-bank transactions using digital data. The involvement of the CBA provides competitive neutrality. Since its the industry group proposing it and not a competitor, the banks will be less resistant to the change.
Personal Identity Security Use Cases
According to identity theft expert LifeLock, more than 16 million Americans complained of identity fraud and theft in 2017 alone, with an identity being stolen every two seconds. Fraud on this scale can occur via everything from forged documents to hacking into personal files.
Industry: Cybersecurity, Fintech
Location: Los Angeles, California
How it’s using blockchain: Oculars anti-money laundering compliance platform leverages blockchain-enabled security to ensure data cannot be manipulated. The technology uses biometric systems to scan the faces of individuals applying for passports, drivers licenses and other government issued IDs. By viewing biometric systems on blockchains, governments can more easily catch identity thieves foraging fake passports, certificates and IDs from other countries.
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Government And Public Services
Distributed ledger technologies dramatically improve upon legacy data management and processes coordination tools. The technologies can be leveraged in government and the public sector to streamline operations and enhance transparency and accountability. Use cases range from self-sovereign digital identity, to electronic health records and central banking.
Aadhaar Hacked 1billion Health Records Exposed
Due to the centralized nature of the Aadhaar database design it was inherently insecure and simply awaiting to be hacked. Aadhaar data includes fingerprints, retina scans, names, addresses, and phone numbers through which SIM cards can be purchased, and important government services and bank accounts can be accessed. According to multiple reports, biometric data was not exposed on WhatsApp, but names, addresses, emails, photographs, and phone numbers were.
The Unique Identification Authority of India , which oversees Aadhaar, says over 1.19 billion people have enrolled in the system since it began in 2009. In early January of 2018 all of the sensitive patient data for Aadhaar became exposed and readily available for entire download from various users on the mobile app WhatsApp for a reasonable price of 500 Rupees or $7.79 . It seems a large group of Indian entrepreneurs illegally got access to over a billion patients records and were willing to sell the full set for less than the cost of going to the movies. After sending the Rupees and an email address, the full set of health records would be emailed over shortly thereafter.
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Benefit No : Building Trust With Citizens
According to the Pew Research Center, American trust in government is near an all-time low. Only 18 percent of Americans say they can trust the government to do what is right most of the time. Reasons for this distrust are numerous and complex, but theres potential for blockchain to contribute to a reversal of this trend.
A key feature of blockchain-based solutions is transparency through decentralization, allowing participating parties to see and verify data. A blockchain solution for some citizen services could allow for independent verification of governmental claims. For example, the governments of Sweden, Estonia, and Georgia are experimenting with blockchain-based land registries, enabling multiple parties to securely hold copies of the registry. This model could help quickly resolve property disputes or prevent them altogether. When citizens and governments share access to records, potential for distrust decreases.
Seamless Data Access In Reno Nv
Reno, NV mayor Hillary Schieve showed open arms for oracle blockchain provider Chainlink. The platform is designed to integrate and store physical data such as real estate contracts seamlessly using blockchain so that those with permission can access data with ease and without the threat of one party altering the contract. The technology keeps an automated log of changes to documentation and data, keeping transparency integral to the documentation being accessed in the cloud.
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