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Potential Impact of Blockchain Technology in Developing Countries

Leapfrogging: Blockchain Technology To Accelerate Developing Nations

A Complete Guide to Blockchain Development

Potential Impact of Blockchain Technology in Developing Countries

This is largely due to the fact that they have no access to banking services. The current limitations faced by banks and financial institutions when it comes to the unbanked can be solved using blockchain technology. Issues such as identity verification that is essential to KYC Know Your Customer implementation can be solved using blockchain technology, as every user is assigned a unique digital identity on the blockchain network.

Also, unlike traditional banks, no physical presence is needed. This means people in the most remote areas can have access to quality banking services on the blockchain network. Companies taking the lead in the provisioning of banking services to the unbanked through the implementation of blockchain technology include Everex , OmiseGo , Humaniq , and a host of other blockchain startups.

Access to affordable, reliable energy Inability to provide the people with reliable and affordable energy has been a great limitation to the growth of developing economies. Thankfully, one of the industries which have harnessed the immense potential of blockchain technology is the energy sector. Truffle is a framework for Ethereum that provides a development environment. The framework supports a library which can link complex Ethereum apps and offer custom deployments to make contracts coding simpler.

It supports some of the features mentioned below:. You will find numerous tools that can be used to develop blockchain apps dApps and smart contracts. To know which is the best blockchain development tool for your project, consult our team of blockchain experts. The project is initiated with PoC, which typically takes weeks. Once the PoC is done, it takes weeks to develop a minimum viable product with bare minimum features. Launching an application on the mainnet takes around months based on the requirements of a client.

If you are looking for a blockchain development partner who can help you develop a blockchain application, we have consolidated a list of some top blockchain development companies. From consultation to PoC, visual and technical designs, development, deployment and maintenance, blockchain experts at LeewayHertz provide end-to-end assistance to startups and enterprises.

LeewayHertz is one of the first companies which has developed a signing platform on the blockchain. Somish Somish is a technology and product development company that builds automated solutions using emerging technologies. It was established in and has been serving companies to re-engineer, design, build and implement automation systems.

Somish dived into blockchain technology in and has developed blockchain projects for governments, municipal corporations, retail companies, finance companies and various other industries. SoluLab Founded in , SoluLab is a technology company with expertise in the blockchain, mobile and web development.

Specialized in Hyperledger Fabric, Smart Contract Development, Private and Public Blockchain Development, their team can build a secure and robust blockchain solution for your business.

Their blockchain development services cater to various industries like healthcare, supply chain management, government, education, publication and media and real estate. Venture Aviator Venture Aviator develops, tests and deploys custom blockchain applications with an interactive and engaging approach.

They have developed robust blockchain solutions for growth companies and Fortune companies like Allianz and Cisco. They aim to assist startups, enterprises and entrepreneurs in developing technology platforms. SoftwareMill is one of the leading blockchain companies that deliver value to its clients with high-quality development. They have a dedicated team of skilled developers who can cater to a wide array of business requirements within the estimated budget.

Based in Poland, they believe that they can resolve the industry-related issues with the digital solutions built on the latest technologies. Our experts can convert your idea into a real solution by implementing blockchain technology into your project idea. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.

This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. A Complete Guide to Blockchain Development. Table of Contents.

How to develop Blockchain from scratch? What value does Blockchain add to your platform? When to use blockchain for your startup or existing platform? How much does it cost to build a blockchain-based platform?

What is the blockchain development process? What is the best app development tools? How long blockchain development takes? List of top blockchain development companies. How to develop blockchain from scratch?

However, many other options allow us to build blockchain protocols in a short period. Processing Speed Blocks are confirmed rapidly, and transactions are added to the blockchain within 1.

Self-sustaining Bitshares ensures the blockchain covers costs to keep going with no maturity date, as it is backed by an ecosystem of dApps to self-fund its native token BTS. Security It is impossible to hack the Delegated Proof-of-Stake DPoS protocol as it involves taking out many global, active and trusted delegates. More Transparency The history of transactions is becoming more transparent with the implementation of blockchain.

Reduced Costs Reducing costs is a priority for most businesses. When to use blockchain for your Startup or existing Platform? Do you want to store data? Is the data dynamic with an auditable history? Is the speed of the transaction vital for you? Should a central authority control your data? Do you require a trustless environment? Do you need a little change or no change in rules on the system? How much does it cost to build a blockchain based platform?

When estimating the cost to build a blockchain-based platform or application, you need to consider the following scenarios: Developing a blockchain app with an in-house team Hiring freelancers for blockchain app development Hiring blockchain development companies for blockchain app development Here is our analysis of the estimated cost of blockchain development for a minimum viable product when using different development resources. The cost of blockchain app development also depends on the following factors: Type of Blockchain App you need The complexity of a Blockchain Project People involved in developing an app Project Management Tools Third-Party Tool Subscription Costs Type of Blockchain App you require Every business requires a digital solution to run their business operations efficiently.

The complexity of a Blockchain Project The complexity of a blockchain project depends on the issues that an application wants to solve. Project Management Methodology Companies might use agile methodology tools such as Jira, Confluence, and Trello to manage blockchain projects.

Third-party Subscription Tools Your blockchain app might require a subscription to third-party subscription tools such as bug tracking tools, notification services, amazon web services, software monitoring services, and data analytics tools.

What is the Blockchain Development Process? Identify problems you want to solve with blockchain First of all, it is essential to develop a problem statement and understand all of the issues you want to solve with a proposed solution. Choose the right blockchain platform As mentioned above in the article, building a blockchain from scratch requires thorough research and takes months to years to develop it successfully.

Visual and Technical Designs Since you have planned an entire application at this stage, start creating UIs for each software component. Development Development is the significant phase of the blockchain development process, where you should be ready to build the blockchain app.

Firstly, an application that does not undergo formal testing is a pre-alpha version of the app. What are the best Blockchain App Development Tools? Mist Before using Ethereum, you should have a place to store Ether tokens and execute smart contracts. Solium Security plays a prominent role when it comes to building a blockchain application. EtherScripter EtherScripter has an easy-to-use interface used for coding basic smart contracts.

Embark A development framework for Ethereum-based dApps, Embark, is used to build and deploy dApps and enable you to create smart contracts written in Javascript programming language. Metamask It is a wallet that connects Chrome or Firefox with Ethereum blockchain by acting as a browser extension. Truffle Truffle is a framework for Ethereum that provides a development environment.

Interactive console for direct contract interaction. Built-in smart contract compilation, deployment, binary management and linking. Network Management for deploying public and private networks. External script runner to execute scripts within a Truffle environment. List of Top Blockchain Development Companies. SoftwareMill SoftwareMill is one of the leading blockchain companies that deliver value to its clients with high-quality development.

This website uses cookies to enhance site navigation and improve functionality, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing and advertising efforts. Read More. This is a novel scenario in developing countries, and it has all the chances to work out. Additionally, Domjan explains that in the emerging-market nations blockchain can be helpful for remittance.

Directly speaking, developing nations can make use of cyber money, based on this tech. As he stressed out, cryptos can be profitable for countries, which have extremely unstable public currencies, which suffer from hyperinflation, maladministration, and high remittance fees and so on.

Not By Property Alone Additionally, Domjan explains that in the emerging-market nations blockchain can be helpful for remittance. Latest Update: Dec 25, People tend to send remittances using bitcoin and its brethren more shows new research by a BLT-centered research company.

Such a spike can be explained Latest Update: Oct 30, Latest Update: Oct 15, This week the company Latest Update: Aug 04, Starbucks, the American coffee-company, which is a worldwide household name, is to start accepting bitcoin and its brethren as means of payment in its branches.

Latest Update: Jun 15, It seems that there has appeared more clearance regarding cryptos in the US. Latest Update: Mar 06, One of the US rulers has finally explained what cyber money is.

Neither are they fiat, nor assets, following the decision of the American, New York region, Latest Update: Feb 22, For quite a long time crypto experts have been warning financial establishments, banks in particular, that they might not be able to rival the growing power

How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead Developing nations have renewed potential to leapfrog developed economies with the emergence of blockchain technology. Leapfrogging happens when nations that are building infrastructure go directly to the latest systems, rather than starting out at the beginning and working forwards. Most discussions of leapfrogging for sustainable development focus on physical infrastructure, like solar-driven power grids.

But what if leapfrogging could be applied to government, finance and law, building the digital future today? In such a future, the transaction costs of economic activity are drastically reduced in much the same way that the web reduced the transaction costs of publishing and communication, resulting in the explosion of ideas we associate with the internet today.

The usefulness of blockchain has similar promise. Much has been made of the potential for blockchain technologies to open up new vistas for business and society. But is there a way for this revolutionary technology to empower the rich and poor alike? We argue that, like previous revolutionary ideas, blockchain has the potential to help developing nations leapfrog more-developed economies. Leapfrogging using the lack of existing infrastructure as an opportunity to adopt the most advanced methods has been a highly effective strategy for developing nations over the last few decades.

The most visible example of leapfrogging today is in nations like Kenya and South Africa , which have rolled out near-universal telephone access using 3G networks instead of laying down copper cables, and provided internet access by smartphone rather than withdesktop PCs.

But its not just physical infrastructure that can be leapfrogged. Paul Domjan, who is the global head of research, analytics and data at the bank discussed that although this is likely to happen on a step by step basis, that certain technologies have the ability to skip steps, giving a solution to the problem much quicker than before.

He used the rapid increase in smartphone usage as an example of this. In a developed country, the chances of having a fixed telephone line is pretty much a given; however, this simply is not the case in emerging countries.

Yet, smartphones have given them the chance to experience the world from the comfort of their palm, effectively skipping the step of a fixed line. He feels that blockchain could have the same effect.

Despite being created to support cryptocurrencies, it also offers huge benefits to most industries. Domjan explained how this could work; Due to its distributed nature, recording new assets on a blockchain can be quite slow, with transaction times measured in hours or even days rather than the seconds that are typical of e-commerce.

As such, blockchain technology is a poor substitute for existing ownership records in developed or even emerging economiesWhereas some emerging markets , such as Russia and China , have property registration systems on par with those in the high-income OECD countries, frontier markets in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia lag far behind, with average performance less than half that of the best performing economies.

He is also quick to add though that it is not just the property sector that can benefit from blockchain technology. How Cryptocurrency Can Help Developing Countries Poverty, corruption, inflation, and high unemployment levels are some of the problems that are common to developing countries around the world. Years of political instability and poor governance has plunged some nations into devastating economic crisis.

With the fast-paced nature of growth and advancements in other more developed parts of the world, the prospects sometimes do seem bleak for these developing nations. However, the emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency has brought renewed enthusiasm about the prospects of a revival in these countries. The focus of this article is to examine possible answers to the big question of how cryptocurrency can be of use to these countries.

The global remittance system is based almost entirely on the activities of citizens of developing countries who are immigrants in the developed world. From time to time, these individuals have to send money back home. These platforms collect fees and charges which considerably increase the cost of such transactions. With cryptocurrency, the cost of remittance can be drastically reduced as well as the hassle required to receive international money transfer.

Already, there are a number of platforms in Africa and Southeast Asia that are offering such services. Back in , Forbes featured an interview with William Blair partner Brian Singer on how bitcoin will end world poverty.

According to Singer, the growing access to the internet through affordable devices could enable particularly those from emerging markets to use a cheaper payment system with a transparent means of recording transactions. Many scoffed at the idea back then. Indeed, cryptocurrencies and blockchain had yet to reach the same level of popularity they enjoy today. But what a difference a couple of years make. Despite some recent shakiness, cryptocurrencies have increased ten times in value since.

Were also seeing more organizations and governments recognize the value in blockchain as a transactional platform and new platforms such as Ethereum can now even facilitate smart contracts using the technology. But how does blockchain shape up in relation to Singers thesis today?

Can blockchain and cryptocurrencies now become the technology that truly levels the playing field for humanity and help continue the reduction of poverty? However, as with most efforts with the best intentions, we have to witness widespread adoption and successful case studies before a definitive verdict can be given.

The increasing amount of blockchain projects by groups and governments is definitely a positive sign on the way to transform grandiose ideas into reality. According to the World Bank, in , While these figures have been in decline over the last few years, that percentage still equates to around million people. A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines.

All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Specialist investment bank Exotix argues that the biggest potential for blockchain technology, first developed to underpin bitcoin, lies in frontier markets.

Analyst Paul Domjan says blockchain could be used for things like property registration, contract law, and exchange in countries with volatile local currencies. Goldman Sachs made a similar point about the potential for bitcoin in countries with unstable local currencies. LONDON The biggest potentially for blockchain technology is in developing markets not developed markets, according to specialist investment bank Exotix.

Smartphones brought about much greater change in developing markets than developed and allowed many countries to "leapfrog" fixed line telephones. Domjan writes: "Today, frontier markets may be positioned to leapfrog developed economies once again, but this time the key technology is blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain technology, also known as distributed ledger tech, was first popularised by bitcoin, the digital currency created in It allows for a shared database that is near instantly updated, meaning all parties can see the same version of that database.

It uses complex cryptography and group authentication to police the editing of the ledger. Can Blockchain Help in Developing Countries? There is no doubt about the fact. Blockchains are here to stay. Blockchains are already allowing us to upgrade the financial services industry by offering fast, trust-less payments between peers. But Blockchains are not only for developed countries. In fact, Blockchains might have even more to contribute to emerging markets. Heres a look at how developing countries can benefit even more from Blockchain Technology.

Blockchain, the underlying technology behind Bitcoin is a unique new way of reaching consensus in a distributed fashion. At its core, a Blockchain is just a database that runs on millions of devices simultaneously. The vast resource pool of devices securing the network prevents malicious actors from editing the recorded information in any way. This gives Blockchains their most important advantage being completely tampered resistant.

That is to say, information recorded on the Blockchain is permanent. This makes Blockchains a candidate for much more than just payments.

Information like Land Titles and other asset certificates could also be stored on blockchains to help make the information tamper-proof. The last several decades have shown us that the route to economic prosperity in developing countries depends on having financial services accessible to the poorest people in the society.

Micro Financing is the provision of small loans to poor entrepreneurs and small businesses who have no access to proper banking services. The most deprived sections of the developing countries rely heavily on microfinance to increase their economic wealth. Several studies have shown that informal trade also benefits from the influx of funding just like in the formal sector. Blockchain Will Make the Biggest Difference in Developing Countries Nikita Blows January 28, pm Even though blockchain technology continues to make strides in developed countries, investment bank Exotixbelieves that it will have the biggest effect in emerging countries.

In most cases, events develop in a step-by-step process. However, in some cases, technology allows us to bypass certain steps to get us to the end goal even quicker. Paul Domjan, who is the global head of research, analytics, and data at Exotix touched on how certain technologies have the ability to skip a few steps to present end users with a solution to their original problem, as well as a host of additional benefits.

According to Business Insider , Domjan discussed how the rapid increase in smartphone usage showcases this. Having a fixed telephone line in a developed country is probably a given, but this isnt the case in emerging countries. Instead of giving citizens in the latter the chance to experience the convenience of a landline, smartphones have instead given them the chance to experience the world from the comfort of their own palm, essentially skipping the step of having a fixed line.

Domjan feels blockchain may have a similar effect in countries with emerging economies. The specialist investment bank had this to say: Today, frontier markets may be positioned to leapfrog developed economies once again, but this time the key technology is blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Even though blockchain was originally created to support cryptocurrencies, it offers huge benefits to basically any industry relying on record keeping, especially in the financial sector.

Once you identify the blockchain platform for developing a blockchain application, you should focus on drafting business requirements and brainstorming ideas. Find what technology components should be added as off-chain or on-chain entities on the blockchain ecosystem. Create a roadmap of the product that will help you to build an application within a decided deadline. You should come up with a blockchain model and conceptual workflow of the blockchain application. Also, decide if the application needs to be developed on a permissioned or permissionless blockchain network.

It would help if you also decided on front-end programming languages to be used, servers, and external databases in this stage. A proof of concept is done to represent the practical applicability of a blockchain project. It can be either a design prototype or a theoretical build-up. In Theoretical Build-up, each project requires theoretical cases so that users could understand the applicability and viability of the product. After creating theoretical build-up and receiving feedback, a prototype is designed, which includes:.

When the client approves the PoC, the next step is to prepare technical and visual designs for the application. Since you have planned an entire application at this stage, start creating UIs for each software component.

Designs APIs that will be integrated with user interfaces to run an application at the back-end. Once the admin consoles and user interfaces are designed, the application gets ready for development. Development is the significant phase of the blockchain development process, where you should be ready to build the blockchain app. In this specific stage, you either have to develop or integrate APIs for particular use cases of the application.

The application is built under multiple versions. Once the client approves it, the application moves to the next stage, i. But, the software might not comprise all the features at this stage. After the alpha version is released, the app is prepared for the beta version.

During Beta Phase, the software application has the complete feature set but with some unknown bugs. Developers share the beta version with a particular group of people outside the organization to test its functionality. Once the beta version is approved and tested, the application moves to the Release Candidate version, which is an advanced beta version that is ready to be a final application and can be launched.

After thorough testing, the application moves to the production phase and gets ready for delivery. Before an app goes live, you should deploy it on the test network to carefully test its functionalities. When deploying an application, administrators can also manage which versions of the app need to be deployed to various resources with provisioning. Once an application is provisioned, it needs to be hosted on the main chain. If your blockchain app is a hybrid solution, i. The application should be able to upgrade according to any new business needs and prioritization.

For instance, if you need to upgrade the smart contract, later on, you should be able to deploy the new contracts without any difficulty. Developing and deploying an app does not mean you are done. Instead, a software application needs to be maintained post-development to ensure that it works with all types of upgrades in the future. An Ethereum client, Geth, is used to run Ethereum nodes in the Go programming language. Using Geth, users can mine Ethers, create smart contracts and run them on EVM, explore the block history and send tokens between addresses.

Geth can be downloaded and installed on Linux, Windows and Mac. It supports two types of installations, Scripted and Binary. Once you start using the Geth, you either have an option to create your own blockchain based on the provided settings or connect to the existing blockchain.

Remix IDE is a compiler used for small contracts. It is a browser-based tool used to create and deploy smart contracts. You can use Remix IDE to write, debug, test and deploy smart contracts using the Solidity programming language. Remix can connect to the Ethereum blockchain via Metamask. Before using Ethereum, you should have a place to store Ether tokens and execute smart contracts. Mist is the Ethereum wallet used for smart contract deployment and is available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

While installing Mist, remember once you set up the password, you cannot update it again. Create a strong password and never forget it. It allows users to make calls to the blockchain without the need to run an Ethereum node. GanacheCLI is used for the instant mining of transactions.

It is an easy-to-use API that provides you with an overview of test chain events. Security plays a prominent role when it comes to building a blockchain application. You need to ensure that the Solidity code does not have security holes. Solium tool is specifically designed to format solidity code and fix security issues in the code. EtherScripter has an easy-to-use interface used for coding basic smart contracts.

With a simple drag and drop interface, developers can connect different components as jigsaw puzzle pieces for developing a contract. It only supports the Serpent programming language. A development framework for Ethereum-based dApps, Embark, is used to build and deploy dApps and enable you to create smart contracts written in Javascript programming language. If an application contains multiple contracts, Embark can also handle the migration of smart contracts.

Developers can manage contracts on multiple blockchains such as live network, testnet and private net using the Embark framework. It is a wallet that connects Chrome or Firefox with Ethereum blockchain by acting as a browser extension. It can save keys for Ether and ERC20 tokens. It can be installed simply as a Chrome extension. Since blockchain is immutable and transactions once added to it cannot be updated or removed, untested programs can result in high costs. That is why it is essential to test a decentralized application before it is deployed on the mainnet.

Ensure to test your app on Blockchain Testnet before going live. Truffle is a framework for Ethereum that provides a development environment. The framework supports a library which can link complex Ethereum apps and offer custom deployments to make contracts coding simpler. It supports some of the features mentioned below:.

You will find numerous tools that can be used to develop blockchain apps dApps and smart contracts. To know which is the best blockchain development tool for your project, consult our team of blockchain experts. The project is initiated with PoC, which typically takes weeks. Once the PoC is done, it takes weeks to develop a minimum viable product with bare minimum features.

Launching an application on the mainnet takes around months based on the requirements of a client. If you are looking for a blockchain development partner who can help you develop a blockchain application, we have consolidated a list of some top blockchain development companies.

From consultation to PoC, visual and technical designs, development, deployment and maintenance, blockchain experts at LeewayHertz provide end-to-end assistance to startups and enterprises. LeewayHertz is one of the first companies which has developed a signing platform on the blockchain. Somish Somish is a technology and product development company that builds automated solutions using emerging technologies. It was established in and has been serving companies to re-engineer, design, build and implement automation systems.

Specialized in Hyperledger Fabric, Smart Contract Development, Private and Public Blockchain Development, their team can build a secure and robust blockchain solution for your business. Their blockchain development services cater to various industries like healthcare, supply chain management, government, education, publication and media and real estate. Venture Aviator Venture Aviator develops, tests and deploys custom blockchain applications with an interactive and engaging approach.

They have a dedicated team of skilled developers who can cater to a wide array of business requirements within the estimated budget. Based in Poland, they believe that they can resolve the industry-related issues with the digital solutions built on the latest technologies.

Our experts can convert your idea into a real solution by implementing blockchain technology into your project idea. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies.

It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. A Complete Guide to Blockchain Development.

Table of Contents. How to develop Blockchain from scratch? What value does Blockchain add to your platform? When to use blockchain for your startup or existing platform? How much does it cost to build a blockchain-based platform? What is the blockchain development process? What is the best app development tools? How long blockchain development takes?

List of top blockchain development companies. How to develop blockchain from scratch? However, many other options allow us to build blockchain protocols in a short period. Processing Speed Blocks are confirmed rapidly, and transactions are added to the blockchain within 1.

More Transparency The history of transactions is becoming more transparent with the implementation of blockchain.

Should a central authority control your data? Do you require a trustless environment? Do you need a little change or no change in rules on the system? How much does it cost to build a blockchain based platform? When estimating the cost to build a blockchain-based platform or application, you need to consider the following scenarios: Developing a blockchain app with an in-house team Hiring freelancers for blockchain app development Hiring blockchain development companies for blockchain app development Here is our analysis of the estimated cost of blockchain development for a minimum viable product when using different development resources.

The cost of blockchain app development also depends on the following factors: Type of Blockchain App you need The complexity of a Blockchain Project People involved in developing an app Project Management Tools Third-Party Tool Subscription Costs Type of Blockchain App you require Every business requires a digital solution to run their business operations efficiently.

The complexity of a Blockchain Project The complexity of a blockchain project depends on the issues that an application wants to solve.

How to develop blockchain from scratch?

Latest Update: Mar 06, One of the US rulers has finally explained what cyber money is. Neither are they fiat, nor assets, following the decision of the American, New York region, Latest Update: Feb 22, For quite a long time crypto experts have been warning financial establishments, banks in particular, that they might not be able to rival the growing power Latest Update: Feb 11, Latest Update: Jan 31, Blockchain ID For Travelers.

One of the most unexpected announcements this year Latest Update: Jan 21, Blockchain in the E-Sports Industry. The e-sports project Eloplay in its blog announced the integration of blockchain-based solutions into the work of its platform.

The statement of the project Latest Update: Dec 27, Cryptobanks vs. Centralized Rivals: Who Will Win? Several analysts have already expressed their belief concerning the hopeless future for traditional banks and payment systems once bitcoin and its brethren Latest Update: Dec 26, Latest Update: Dec 04, Wings - a decentralized platform for creating, participating and managing DAO.

It works on the blockchain technology using smart contracts. Wings team Latest Update: Dec 02, Altcoin to Invest: Litecoin. Since Litecoin has received recognition and became known as the "digital silver. Latest Update: Nov 30, The Blockchain technology in the local transportation or taxi is just a continuation of the evolution that took place over centuries. People look for useful Cryptocurrency Calculator. Featured stories. Latest Update: Dec 30, Crypto News For November Latest Update: Nov 04, Latest Update: Nov 02, Latest Update: Oct 01, Latest Update: Aug 16, Latest Update: Jul 02, Latest Update: Feb 19, Latest Update: Feb 18, World Bank WorldBank November 11, The head of research explained that the best place where blockchain technology can be used is where a standard ledger is required such as property registrations, money transfer, and contract enforcement.

Blockchain technology is the backbone of many in the cryptocurrency industry as the latter are just the first application. Bitcoin launched in and popularized the innovation. Simply put, a blockchain is a digitized, decentralized public ledger of transactions. It keeps a permanent record of all transactions between users in the network. Any modification or update in any transaction is transmitted to every user in the network.

This technology helps in making the system more secure and decentralized. The real identity of the parties involved in any transaction is also never revealed, and cryptography secures the transaction. Blockchain technology was initially developed for keeping bitcoin decentralized, but it has now found its applications in fields as diverse as research , music and warehouse management. Blockchain Opportunities for Social Impact in Developing Countries Blockchain is changing the financial sector but it is also creating new opportunities to generate social impacts, e.

In June , Accelerator Frankfurt brought together start-ups and academics to discuss and learn more about new applications of this exciting technology. His university is a front-runner on this topic as they have created a think tank and a research center which investigates the implications of the blockchain technology for companies and their business models.

Luis Bezzenberger from Brainbot Technologies presented a list of organisations and companies working on applications including blockchain technologies. Bjrn Fischer, the final speaker presented an example of how blockchain technology could possibly change the energy access sector. In essence, blockchain technology constitutes a fascinating new approach to keeping track of, for example, asset ownership, without requiring a central authority and with minimal transaction costs.

This in turn supports business models with the potential to trigger radical changes in society and the economy. New transactions are registered and compiled in batches called "blocks" and then are added to the existing chain of blocks and hence the name, Blockchain. The users can then look at the transactions to verify that a particular transaction took place at a particular time. Mans life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.

Ambedkar Self-sovereign identity is a scarcely developed resource, accessible only by a tech-savvy few in mostly developed countries. With the advent of blockchain technology and its application to identity management through projects like Civic and uPort , the laymans ability to exclusively maintain her own data is gradually becoming a reality.

But, in developing countries, a whole host of infrastructural and geo-political problems prevent a massive market of identity-non-consumers from freely transacting and exchanging their identity and associated attributes in any context they see fit. Not Syrian, not Turkish: Refugees fleeing war lack documentation We see this most often within refugee communities, where typical users dont have access to smart phones or if they do, it is for a very temporary period of time.

The lack of a smartphone in todays self-sovereign blockchain market makes it very difficult to even develop an immutable identity, let alone associate it with off-chain attributes over time. In fact, most developing nations within Africa and the Middle East have very low smartphone consumer penetration, in tangent with sometimes unstable governance that makes establishing a technology-centric economy especially difficult.

Blockchains Greatest Impact Will Be in Developing Countries, Says UPenn Lecturer February 02, , PM EDT By Amy Castor, Bitcoin Magazine Most of the attention, flurry and investment around blockchain technology is in the West, where people are investing in cryptocurrencies and focused on a slew of novel applications, like using a blockchain to track vegetables from the field to store shelves. But the greatest impact of blockchain technology will be in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

At least, that is the view of David Crosbie , a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He thinks blockchain technology will bring the same everyday levels of convenience and automation to the developing world that we take for granted in places like the U. Trust is essential to how society functions. He explained that we went on to put our trust in the church, which used ideas like hell and damnation to get people to follow the the rules, and then, for better or worse, we put our trust in government.

The problem is we have handed governments the ability to lock us up, take away our belongings and even kill us, in exchange for a reliable and predictable legal structure, he says.

Blockchain technology is the first real effort to expand on that trust model with any success. Readers should conduct their own research prior to taking any actions related to the content below. Basic electricity access is taken for granted in the world of crypto and many people across the globe lack this essential commodity. According to the latest figures , more than 1. Electricity poverty has severe ramifications for quality of life in communities experiencing it. Without electricity, many modern medical procedures are impossible to do safely.

Well-water cant be drawn with electric-powered pumps, lighting and climate control cant provide necessary comforts to students studying for exams or government workers carrying out critical administrative tasks.

Many communication tools, such as internet access or even computers themselves, are unreliable or entirely out of reach. To make matters even worse, indoor air pollution drives up mortality rates in communities that rely on biomass heating sources for cooking, light, and warmth, resulting in an estimated 4.

The predominance of rural energy poverty means that simply adding more capacity to centralized energy grids predominantly servicing urban areas is not the solution. Call me E for short. I write on upcoming cryptotrends. Follow me: ecurrencyhodler theliteschool www. However, he very quickly discovered that providing the internet through traditional forms of infrastructure had significant limitations: The cost of accessing the internet was high as you had to buy computers.

This was not a feasible option for many in developing countries. The alternative was to build internet cafes, but this was impractical as the cost of building wired infrastructure would be immense. In light of this, he decided to think outside the box. Instead of bringing the internet through computers, he decided he would do it through mobile phones. Working various phone companies in developing countries, together they provided a stripped down version of the Facebook platform. These walled gardens were designed to wet the appetite of new web-users who would then purchase bigger plans to access a more complete product.

Since then, internet adoption in developing countries have been making significant headway. This means that there is an entire generation growing up in developing third world countries that have technologically jumped past the era of computers.

However, computers may not be the only significant era that developing countries may jump. How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead Developing nations have renewed potential to leapfrog developed economies with the emergence of blockchain technology. Leapfrogging happens when nations that are building infrastructure go directly to the latest systems, rather than starting out at the beginning and working forwards. Most discussions of leapfrogging for sustainable development focus on physical infrastructure, like solar-driven power grids.

Yet, smartphones have given them the chance to experience the world from the comfort of their palm, effectively skipping the step of a fixed line. He feels that blockchain could have the same effect. Despite being created to support cryptocurrencies, it also offers huge benefits to most industries. Domjan explained how this could work; Due to its distributed nature, recording new assets on a blockchain can be quite slow, with transaction times measured in hours or even days rather than the seconds that are typical of e-commerce.

However, the emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency has brought renewed enthusiasm about the prospects of a revival in these countries. The focus of this article is to examine possible answers to the big question of how cryptocurrency can be of use to these countries. The global remittance system is based almost entirely on the activities of citizens of developing countries who are immigrants in the developed world.

Leapfrogging: Blockchain Technology To Accelerate Developing Nations

Featured stories. Latest Update: Dec 30, Crypto News For November Latest Update: Nov 04, Latest Update: Nov 02, Latest Update: Oct 01, Latest Update: Aug 16, Latest Update: Jul 02, Latest Update: Feb 19, A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Specialist investment bank Exotix argues that the biggest potential for blockchain technology, first developed to underpin bitcoin, lies in frontier markets.

LONDON The biggest potentially for blockchain technology is in developing markets not developed markets, according to specialist investment bank Exotix. Smartphones brought about much greater change in developing markets than developed and allowed many countries to "leapfrog" fixed line telephones.

Domjan writes: "Today, frontier markets may be positioned to leapfrog developed economies once again, but this time the key technology is blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain technology, also known as distributed ledger tech, was first popularised by bitcoin, the digital currency created in It allows for a shared database that is near instantly updated, meaning all parties can see the same version of that database.

But Blockchains are not only for developed countries. In fact, Blockchains might have even more to contribute to emerging markets. Heres a look at how developing countries can benefit even more from Blockchain Technology. Blockchain, the underlying technology behind Bitcoin is a unique new way of reaching consensus in a distributed fashion. At its core, a Blockchain is just a database that runs on millions of devices simultaneously. The vast resource pool of devices securing the network prevents malicious actors from editing the recorded information in any way.

This gives Blockchains their most important advantage being completely tampered resistant. That is to say, information recorded on the Blockchain is permanent. This makes Blockchains a candidate for much more than just payments. Information like Land Titles and other asset certificates could also be stored on blockchains to help make the information tamper-proof.

The last several decades have shown us that the route to economic prosperity in developing countries depends on having financial services accessible to the poorest people in the society. Micro Financing is the provision of small loans to poor entrepreneurs and small businesses who have no access to proper banking services.

The most deprived sections of the developing countries rely heavily on microfinance to increase their economic wealth. Several studies have shown that informal trade also benefits from the influx of funding just like in the formal sector. Blockchain Will Make the Biggest Difference in Developing Countries Nikita Blows January 28, pm Even though blockchain technology continues to make strides in developed countries, investment bank Exotixbelieves that it will have the biggest effect in emerging countries.

Having a fixed telephone line in a developed country is probably a given, but this isnt the case in emerging countries. Instead of giving citizens in the latter the chance to experience the convenience of a landline, smartphones have instead given them the chance to experience the world from the comfort of their own palm, essentially skipping the step of having a fixed line. Domjan feels blockchain may have a similar effect in countries with emerging economies.

The specialist investment bank had this to say: Today, frontier markets may be positioned to leapfrog developed economies once again, but this time the key technology is blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Even though blockchain was originally created to support cryptocurrencies, it offers huge benefits to basically any industry relying on record keeping, especially in the financial sector.

How Will Blockchain Technology Help Developing Countries Mail Google Pinterest Reddit Pocket Hackernews We might not accurately know when the adage developing countries came into colloquial use, but essentially it indicates the host of nations that are relatively and similarly poor in social and economic measure.

These nations have the potential to progress but do not have adequate access to present day technology, primarily due to lack of infrastructure which is now their Achilles heel. However, today we could possibly fathom tackling sundry of these challenges plaguing the developing nations with the help of the modern day marvel blockchain technology. Fundamentally, these nations need transparency, security, and accountability in their processes, all of which are cornerstones of this blockchain technology.

First and foremost, the technology is decentralized and hence eliminates the custodian restraints of any private entity. All the data in the system are digitally crypted for unique identification and once posted, a record can never be changed or deleted, leading to security.

Secondly, blockchain concept works on smart contracts, wherein transactions happen only if certain pre-set requirements are met, so there will accountability of all transactions. Thirdly, the fact that it is an open ledger for all the users in the system to view and monitor, leads to complete transparency. If we were to list the broad challenges that mar the progress of any nation, they are, lack of financial inclusion, weak institutions and lack of talent development, all of which demand significant investment, infrastructure, and resources.

Most of the attention, flurry and investment around blockchain technology is in the West, where people are investing in cryptocurrencies and focused on a slew of novel applications, like using a blockchain to track vegetables from the field to store shelves. Many years ago, we used to run around on the savanna, and we only trusted our blood kin, Crosbie said in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine. Because it is so effective in providing trust, blockchain is most effective in environments where there is no competition, said Crosbie.

In other words, in places where the state does not provide a good trust model, blockchain technology can step in and provide a way around existing rules and regulations. Macaulay Cle Gracias a la tecnologa, hoy por hoy gozamos de diferentes formas de pago para diferentes servicios. La Comunicacin de C Amid pressing demands to achieve critical sustainable development goals, governments in developing countries face the additional complex task of embracing new digital technologies such as blockchains.

This paper develops a framework interlinking development, technology, and government institutions that policymakers and development practitioners could use to address such a conundrum.

State capacity and democratic governance are introduced as drivers in the overall analysis. With this in hand, blockchain technology is revisited from the perspective of governments in the Global South, identifying in the process key traits and proposing a new typology.

An overview of the status of blockchain deployments in the Global South follows, complemented by a closer look at country examples to distill trends, patterns and risks. The paper closes with a discussion of the findings, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for governments. It also provides basic guidance to development practitioners interested in enhancing current programming using blockchains as an enabler.

The last 30 years have witnessed a long wave of almost unstoppable digital innovation. The Internet led the way rapidly giving birth to the World Wide Web that proved to be a game-changer on a global scale. A wide variety of Internet-based applications such as e-commerce and e-government, to name a few, saw the light soon thereafter.

By the end of the first decade of this century, mobile technologies and social media were already an integral part of the digital landscape. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning underwent a somewhat unexpected renaissance while Bitcoin and its underlying technology, blockchain, were loudly welcomed as the new kids on the block. With few exceptions, developing countries have been recipients of the latest technological innovations—designed and produced for the most part by industrialized countries.

Adopting and adapting the latest digital incarnations have been undertaken by both private and public initiatives in the Global South Cozzens and Thakur, Juggling these two seemingly independent agendas has been challenging for developing countries, especially for those where socio-economic and political gaps are the largest and fiscal and other key resources are relatively scarce.

While pilots and on the ground digital initiatives pushed by the private sector and international donors have proliferated since the late s, governments in many countries, reacting at a slow pace, focused mostly on policy and strategy development. By the beginning of this century, complementary or standalone e-Government strategies gained traction and provided the public sector with a roadmap to modernize the state sector, improve its efficiency and responsiveness, and scale-up the provision of public goods and basic services Ndou, While a few industrialized nations are already working on this, today not one single developing country has developed a national blockchain strategy.

In contrast, several countries from the Global South have already completed Artificial Intelligence strategies Dutton, Nevertheless, developing countries became the preferred test-beds for many of the first Bitcoin and blockchain technology pilots, starting in Zambrano, History is thus seemingly repeating itself by following the usual cycle of innovation diffusion in developing contexts Zanello et al.

Within this context, this paper develops a conceptual framework to explore how governments and the public sector in developing countries 1 can effectively harness blockchain technology to tackle key development challenges. The paper first presents an analytical framework that brings together technology, development and state capacity. It then presents an overview of blockchain technology from that perspective and delimits its scope accordingly.

The third section reviews the current status of research on blockchains and development and blockchains in governments, complemented by an examination of relevant on the ground examples. The paper then presents a discussion of the proposed framework and research findings. The focus of this paper is on blockchain technology as a generic platform that could help achieve international and national development goals endorsed by governments.

The monetary and financial implications of the technology are thus not part of the analysis. While the links between development and ICTs have been vastly explored as shown below, introducing state capacity into the equation adds a new dimension that delimits the role of the public sector and showcases the relevance of democratic governance in the overall developmental process.

Economic growth, usually equated with economic development, ruled unchallenged in the early years and used standard metrics such as GDP to gauge progress.

While some metrics are still widely used today, challenges to the traditional economic development approach started to emerge first in the s when environmental considerations and impact were brought to the forefront Meadows et al. By the end of the s, the concept of sustainable development was coined by the Brundtland Commission running under the auspices of the United Nations World Commission and on Environment Development.

UN meetings to take stock on the implementation of the agenda took place every 5 years after its approval. The Millennium Declaration and ensuing MDGs complemented Agenda 21 but focused primarily on poverty reduction, gender equality, and health pandemics United Nations, Unlike its predecessor, the SDGs are universal and thus suited for all countries, both developed and developing United Nations, b.

However, the number of goals, targets, and indicators grew almost exponentially. The SDGs comprise 17 goals, targets, and indicators 2. Many of the goals and targets set by the MDGs were not reached in many developing countries United Nations, a. Moreover, they included a set of targets and indicators calling for increased ICT access and diffusion. The SDGs, on the other hand, mainstreamed technology into several of the many targets established Janowski, while largely avoiding using the ICT acronym in the final list of goals, targets, and indicators United Nations, c.

Sustainable development is defined as the intersection of three core pillars: economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. The concept is usually represented using a Venn diagram, where the various intersections are labeled with unique names.

Conspicuously absent here is governance , which is also a cross-cutting pillar that interacts with the other three. Nevertheless, the SDGs directly highlight its importance via Goal 17 which explicitly addresses core governance issues such as institutional building, the rule of law, participation, transparency, and accountability.

As governments are the main focus of this paper, introducing the issue of state capacity is fundamental. Recent research shows that state capacity played a key role in the achievement of the MDGs targeting poverty reduction Asadullah and Savoia, Countries with low state capacity were less successful than those that were better equipped with capable institutions to support the provision of public goods. Moreover, a higher state capacity also helped sustain the gains made in the medium-term, whereas those with weaker capacity were prone to short-term reversals.

The fact that there is no universal consensus on a definition of state capacity is just a reflection of its multidimensional character and complexity e. For the purposes of this paper, however, state capacity is defined by the following traits based on Savoia and Sen, :.

Institutional capacity : Capacity to design and implement development policies and programs, including the provision of public goods, as well as the legal capacity to sustain the rule of law in the long run. Fiscal capacity : Capacity to capture financial resources in a sustained fashion via taxation and other sources including external ones. Infrastructural capacity: Ability to carry out institutional and fiscal responsibilities in all the territories under their control of the state.

Includes Weber's well-known state monopoly over the means of violence or military capacity. From a governance perspective, three issues are pertinent. First, distinguishing between state capacity and political regimes is essential. Strong states are frequently seen as a proxy for authoritarian or non-democratic regimes.

However, most Western democracies have states with high capacity, while many non-democratic regimes operate with little to no institutional development Tilly, a thus having to use force and repression to support existing regimes.

Second, democratic governance regimes can only be sustained over the long haul if a high capacity state is in place. De-democratization processes can indeed take place as has in fact occurred in the last 20 years throughout the world. The rise of populism, nationalism and some forms of proto-fascism in this period provides the necessary evidence. Finally, states also need to have the necessary capabilities to harness new technologies, especially new ones such as blockchains and Artificial Intelligence that have a relatively high degree of complexity.

This capacity, however, is not limited to technical knowledge, which is important, but also demands institutional capacity to develop successful policies and support on the ground initiatives, directly or indirectly via third parties, including the private sector. However, the same technologies that help provide basic public goods to vulnerable and excluded populations can also be used to support de-democratization processes.

This is the conundrum that developing countries must address as they deploy digital technologies. All in all, state capacity is both a means to achieve development goals and a development goal in itself, particularly if resilient and long-term democratic regimes are part of the core goals.

Nevertheless, state capacity has rarely been considered when studying the links between ICTs, development, and governments e. While several competing theories and schools of thought have already emerged Zheng, , the field still faces three critical and interconnected challenges. First and perhaps most obvious, is the link between ICT and development which boils down to the question of how exactly do ICTs foster development Heeks, ; Zheng et al.

It is regularly assumed that digital technologies automatically accomplish this, regardless of how the latter is defined. The second and closely related to the former is the lack of solid evidence on the actual impact of ICTs in developmental processes Foster and Heeks, ; Brown and Skelly, Estonia and South Korea are cited as examples of success but they are more the exception than the rule.

Finally, the field has a bias toward technology and infrastructure Gomez, From a practitioners perspective, these three core challenges are closely related.

Access to digital technologies automatically empowers people who can then take matters into their own hands and propel human and sustainable development in the medium-term. Measuring impact is thus based on metrics centered on access to and use of the new technologies ITU, Any resemblance with a trickle-down theory of digital development is not coincidental. Furthermore, current evidence does not provide support for such a theory. In effect, the rapid evolution of digital technologies such as the Internet and social media, have yet make a dent on development according to recent research Comin and Mestieri, The same goes for mobile technologies that have spread globally at an unprecedented pace 3.

For the purposes of this paper, ICTs are instead deemed to be enablers of development processes Zambrano and Eymann, ICTs have the potential to amplify existing programs and initiatives, bring new solutions to old problems and foster democratic governance and institutions. Such potential should be harnessed by local actors and institutions who acting in concert can bring positive change forward.

On the flip side, new ICTs also generate new challenges that might demand attention. Blockchain technology squarely falls into this framework but also goes beyond the digital divide and connectivity approaches. Blockchains work as long as people are connected but, unlike other digital technologies, are not destined to promote increased access to the Internet and close the digital divide. The implementation of development agendas at all levels is in itself a challenge for developing countries where state capacity is incipient.

Adding new technologies to the equation might complicate matters more. On the other hand, developing country governments should not attempt to drive development agendas on their own. Here, the distinction between private and public goods is crucial 4. In the case of private goods and services , the private sector, big and small, should take the lead.

Governments should have adequate institutional, legal, and infrastructural capacity to ensure this is possible and, if market failures are pervasive, create incentive mechanisms to attract the required capital and human resources.

Nevertheless, governments should take the helm to guide the modernization of the public sector and the universal provision of public goods. The former is the entry point to increase state capacity, in a sustained manner 5. The latter, which depends to a large extent on state capacity, fills development gaps that fall right into the purview of government. Governance provides a third pillar. State modernization and public goods service provision should be designed and implemented within a democratic governance framework where the rule of law, participation, transparency, and accountability are core drivers that permeate all of society.

Developing countries are no strangers to the deployment and use of digital technologies within governments. Over 20 years ago, E-government appeared in the scene and rapidly spread to most countries. As mentioned above, many developing countries ended up designing e-government strategies. Despite repeated failures Heeks, , initiatives did not fizzle out.

This paper uses digital government broadly defined as public investments on ICTs to modernize the public sector, increase state capacity, and scale-up the provision of public goods. For developing countries where democratic regimes prevail, bringing into the equation the democratic governance approach mentioned above is critical.

In this context, the net outcome of successful ICT investments in public institutions should not be limited to access, efficiency and effectiveness. More relevant are the strengthening of democratic institutions where transparency and accountability shine the most and citizen and stakeholder engagement becomes part of daily life.

Figure 1 presents the three pillars of digital government and its interconnections. For developing country democracies, the key entry point is engagement with stakeholders to define policy agendas, identify key challenges, and prioritize interventions. Governments should then be able to identify the public entities that need to be involved according to existing legal mandates. Allocation of public resources is then finalized and changes in the provision of selected public goods should eventually improve.

Stakeholders can then provide feedback and demand changes and improvements. Sequencing between these pillars is also essential. For example, governments cannot start implementing e-service delivery if they have not first developed adequate internal ICT and human capacity, and updated or modernized existing business processes. However, nothing is preventing governments from starting with service delivery or ignore the co-creation phase and the engagement with stakeholders.

This is especially true for the participation and service delivery pillars. Instead, a multichannel approach is most suited in many cases, particularly in countries where ICT penetration is low and poverty is still pervasive.

The truth machine Casey and Vigna, The trust machine The Economist, The Internet of value Tapscott and Tapscott, These are some of the names coined by different authors, academic and pundits to capture the complexity of the technology in one phrase. While catchy, they fall short from elucidating the benefits of the technology from a public sector perspective. Almost 10 years after its birth, publication after publication continues to explore ways to explain the inner workings of the technology to the average person e.

Technology diffusion does not depend on the level of technology comprehension by the public Kapoor et al. In this section, blockchain technology is characterized from the perspective of the public sector in developing countries, using the conceptual framework presented in the previous section as a guide.

A blockchain is a digital ledger supported by the smart integration of three existing technologies: peer-to-peer distributed networks; cryptography; and consensus algorithms. Blockchain technology complexity stems in part from the fact that its supporting technologies have been hanging out at the fringes of the global network. While the concept of digital raises little doubt, the same cannot be said about the ledger nature of blockchains. Despite the increasing popularity of spreadsheets, accountants are perhaps the group most familiar with ledgers as they continuously use them for business purposes.

In that world, ledgers are analog or digital books where a series of transactions, mostly credits and debits, are sequentially recorded. Not surprisingly, some have suggested that blockchains are indeed a form of triple accounting Simoyama et al. Being that as it may, the key point here is that blockchains are not part of the relational database technology family.

Blockchains are thus not designed to store big data, for example. Moreover, and unlike traditional accounting ledgers, blockchain technology provides an open avenue for skilled users to write native computer code.

Developing applications that operate within the platform or interact with external sources and resources is thus a key feature. Usually presented under the umbrella of smart contracts, programming in blockchains is not limited to them, as discussed below. The underlying peer-to-peer or distributed network should not be confused with a decentralized one. Although the terms are used as synonyms in much of the literature, the latter allows for local centralization.

That is, a group of nodes close together depend on central local one which in turn provides the link to other node clusters operating under similar arrangements.

In a truly distributed network like blockchain, all nodes are equal and live independently. One and two-way encryption tools are extensively used in blockchains. The first is known as hashing and creates an irreversible and unique digital signature for every transaction, a group of transactions, and blocks added to the existing chain. The second is asymmetric public key cryptography that generates public and private keys for end users. Users share their public keys while keeping their private keys in a safe space, digital or analog.

Most of the data recorded on a blockchain are thus comprised of hashes and public keys. Two types of consensus take place in blockchain technology Beyer, The first one occurs when the specialized nodes working on adding a new block of transactions to the chain, the so-called miners, agree on which transactions should be included in such block.

This is known as Nakamoto consensus. The second happens when the new block of transactions is actually added to the chain. Here, any node or network user can validate such a block and agree to append it to the existing chain 6. In sum, a blockchain is a programmable digital layer operating within a distributed network, requiring cryptographic tools for access and transaction management, and using consensus algorithms for adding or appending new blocks of transactions to the ledger. A vast literature on the key traits of blockchain technology already exists.

This section presents key blockchain traits based on the contribution that each of its three underlying technologies furnishes. Two different sets of traits emerge. One stems from the unique contribution of each of the base technologies.

The other is the result of the integration and interaction among them. Traits in the matrix diagonal represent standalone contributions. All other boxes are the result of the integration of the three technologies. Resilience : In a distributed network, multiple independent copies of the blockchain can co-exist.

There is thus no central point of failure. Pseudonymity : Cryptographic tools enable users to interact with others without having to reveal their real identities or providing any personal data. A relatively high degree of privacy thus exists.

The same however does not apply to transactions that in principle can be viewed by anyone in the network. Immutability : Blocks of transactions in the chain are time-stamped and mathematically linked in sequential order.

Changing one block thus requires changing all other blocks. Incentives : Processing transactions and adding new blocks to the chain brings financial benefits to nodes involved miners. Transaction fees and cryptocurrency rewards are the most common forms of income.

Traits stemming from the integration of the technologies include:. Consensus : Transaction processing and block addition are validated by network nodes in all cases. This is algorithmic consensus that should not be confused with human-based consensus. Transparency : User interactions and the resulting data can be viewed by any network member. Confidential information or data has no place here. Security : Resilience, immutability, and consensus substantially increase the level of internal blockchain security.

While still possible, hacking and network attacks are still possible. The standard way of classifying blockchains relies on the distinction between private and public, alongside permission levels. In this perspective, three different blockchain types emerge public, private, and consortium blockchains e. While relevant for the private sector, such differentiation might not be as effective from a public sector perspective.

The distinction between private and consortium blockchains hinges in part on how many entities control access to the application layer. Governments can also have multiple institutions involved in the deployment of one blockchain platform—as could be the case for government interoperability, is one of the main staples of digital government. Calling such an arrangement a consortium does not add any value from the public sector perspective.

The best way to avoid such potential pitfalls is to go back to the three core blockchain technologies described in section Revisiting Blockchain, Again and suggest an alternative typology that caters to the specific idiosyncrasies of the public sector.

Users either find the door open and walk right in or must first ring the doorbell to be able to enter. Cryptographic tools and consensus algorithms operate at the application layer. Nodes or users accessing such layers are first authenticated and then furnished an authorization to perform specific actions—such as creating a smart contract, mining the blockchain network or developing a Dapp, for example. Table 2 depicts the matrix of options by separating the different layers.

Note that blockchains require all users to be authenticated, regardless of access type. The difference between open and closed network access depends on how users are authenticated. In the case of closed access, a third-party one or more entities issues the authentication credentials using cryptographic tools. Note that open access authentication does not fulfill know-your-customer KYC or anti-money-laundering AML regulations and thus might be less attractive to both governments and businesses bound by them 7.

Once authenticated, nodes will be able to access the application layer. In the case of classic blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, authentication alone grants immediate access to the application layer. Authorization does not exist as a separate instance and thus, no central authority is required. In this case, access to the application layer is fully decentralized.

But open access blockchain platforms can also limit access to such layer. For closed access networks, both authentication and authorization are managed by a central outfit—one single entity private, in the traditional scheme or many working together consortium. However, it is also possible that a closed blockchain platform provides all authenticated nodes full access to the application layer.

This might be relevant to public sector initiatives where all actors within a single ministry or in multiple ministries or public entities work together in a cross-sectoral initiative. A GovChain is similar to a government dedicated network with secure links to external clients.

A GovChain runs on such network but add functionality at the application layer. Finally, this typology highlights the similarities between hybrid open and closed centralized blockchains. In both, the levels of authorization to the application layer are provided by a central outfit. However, since hybrid open networks do not control authentication, all nodes and users still have read access to the full blockchain. This is not the case in closed blockchain networks.

The latter can also introduce more sophisticated access control schemes to assign different roles of nodes in the application layer. Undoubtedly, smart contracts are one of the most touted blockchain features.

While the idea itself dates from the end of last century Szabo, , blockchains created the platform for the actual implementation of the idea. For example, Ethereum provides the software Solidity 8 and platform Ethereum Virtual Machine 9 to program and execute contracts In this fashion, transactions envisaged on a given agreement can be triggered at a pre-established date or by action taken by one of the parties involved. Contractual transactions are automatically executed and, since the parties have direct access to digital currency, payments occur smoothly.

Smart contracts also come in different flavors OSTechNix, The first one mirrors traditional legal contracts which can now be executed on a blockchain platform.

Not limited to financial agreements Murphy, , these type of contracts have attracted most of the attention of both practitioners and academics e.

A Complete Guide to Blockchain Development

But its massive potential and positive impact on humanity will be felt more in underdeveloped and developing countries. One of the major problems plaguing developing countries is corruption. Most of these nations are ruled by corrupt government officials who lunge at every opportunity to steal funds which were meant to contribute to economic development.

A lot of them have high inflation rates with very low reserves, and they resort to international financial organizations mostly the World Bank for humanitarian aid in times of need.

The most alarming aspect of this legacy governmental corruption is that these aids and grants are embezzled by unscrupulous agents in the government. However, with the adoption of blockchain technology by these countries, the problem of corruption can be effectively tackled. Blockchain features such as improved security, transparency, immutability that is, once transactions are stored on the blockchain, they cannot be altered , and its decentralized nature make it a valuable tool in the fight against corruption.

Blockchain technology has the potential to positively impact developing and underdeveloped countries in more ways than can be imagined. On the flip side, the traditional approach to e-government centers on the relation between the public sector and technology while assuming development outcomes are either the natural and automatic.

For example, the standard e-government transactional approach that emphasizes G2B, G2C, and G2G interactions—depicted in Figure 2 by the intersection between government and ICTs, has limited scope for targeting specific development gaps as the onus is on interactions among key sectors and stakeholders.

Having governments as part and parcel of the overall equation also demands serious consideration of the relationship between state capacity and both development and digital technologies. The dynamics between these three can be complex, bearing in mind that sustainable development itself encompasses four pillars governance included while digital government comprises three, as discussed in section Conceptual Framework above. Nevertheless, the essential point is that state capacity is both a means to promote digital government and sustainable development and a goal in itself, as clearly established by the UN SDG agenda.

For starters, and like most digital technologies, blockchains are exogenous to the national ecosystems of developing countries. Governments thus continuously play catch-up with such technologies.

A core issue here is the lack of local capacity to effectively harness the new entrant, even if the platform is Open Source and thus has no per-user licensing costs. Such capacity is not merely technical but also scientific and managerial as governments and partners should fully comprehend the inner workings of the technology to, for example, launch public bidding processes calling for the adoption of blockchains to support specific digital government priorities or gaps.

In this regard, blockchains are not at all different from previous digital technologies migrating into developing nations.

While the complexity of blockchains might add additional entry barriers, governments are probably better off focusing on both the three underlying technologies that support it and the different types of blockchains, DLTs included, that are available. Regarding the former, many countries in the Global South lack adequate cryptographic expertise, have weak public key infrastructures PKIs in place, and are not very familiar with consensus algorithms.

Furthermore, while peer-to-peer networking is readily available, limited Internet access will surely pose constraints to widespread utilization. As described in section Characterizing Blockchain Technology for the Public Sector above, developing country governments can choose among different types of blockchains and DLTs.

However, the first question they need to ask is if blockchain technology is the most optimal solution for the issue at stake. Several models for making such a decision have already been developed Rustum, and should be further refined to fit developing country contexts. Selecting the adequate platform will mostly depend on the type of digital government priority under the radar screen.

It is however possible to conclude that, in general, governments should opt for private or closed blockchains Atzori, , hybrids included. On the other hand, in terms of the dissemination of public documents, information, and data, public or open blockchains can provide the right vehicle as they guarantee immutability, integrity, and transparency while ensuring pseudonymous access—or access based on self-sovereign identity, if available.

The cases discussed in the country examples subsection yielded essential insights for deploying blockchains within governments. The evidence compiled so far, which is still incipient, suggests that the technology can deliver when explicitly linked to both digital government institutional instances and digital government priorities and gaps. For the most part, successful blockchain implementation in emerging countries have either complemented existing digital government platforms and initiatives or provided a new solution to vexing issues that could not be solved otherwise.

In both cases, the technology was not deployed in a standalone fashion. Integration with other digital technologies was also part of the process. This is perhaps a crucial point as blockchains seem to add real value when brought in as a new member of an existing technology team. In this light, it is possible to suggest that smart contracts could become really intelligent if they could effectively interact with Deep Learning algorithms and platforms, for example Salah et al.

While not having a happy ending, the Illinois experience sheds light on the risks of deploying blockchains. Technical limitations of the blockchain platforms selected for the various pilots helped stall the project.

The initiative also attempted to address its governance implications. Consequently, specific legislative changes were requested to the local assembly, including biometric-based notarization, self-notarization of documents and several other measures to improve the management of public land records State of Illinois, While having potential for increasing state capacity, demands for institutional change, grounded mostly on technological grounds, might not take off if local decision-makers have not been involved in the process from the start.

Surely, this is not unique to blockchains. But the fact that the technology is also touted as governance and institutional changer e. As discussed in subsection Blockchains, Development and Governments, blockchain deployment in developing country governments is still in its infancy.

Hype, complexity, lack of successful implementation, and an overemphasis on cryptocurrencies and new financial markets are factors that might help explain this state of affairs—not to forget the fact that blockchain technology is still maturing. The conceptual framework presented in this paper targets this gap by providing governments and development practitioners with potential entry points to explore the effective deployment of blockchain technology systematically. If governments are the main target of blockchain technology initiatives, then digital government and state capacity must take center stage.

Early evidence suggests that blockchains can make a difference when aligned with existing digital government institutions, strategies, priorities, and platforms. This, in turn, indicates that a more nuanced approach to the interplay between blockchains and key digital government components is required.

For starters, governments in the Global South should capitalize on existing South-South and North-South cooperation agreements and networks to extract more information on ongoing blockchain deployments in the public sector. Collaboration across government peers on a global scale could add more value than published reports and thus help avoid pitfalls that pioneers in the sector have unexpectedly faced.

Looking at the way blockchains can tackle core digital government themes and bottlenecks will be as important, if not more. For example, government interoperability has traditionally been one of such issues. More often than not, public entities happen to run their own technology platforms that almost never talk to each other. On the other hand, citizens and stakeholders will surely benefit from having one-stop shops to undertake all the business they do with government.

To reach this point, government platforms must be able to converse among themselves. Governments have thus developed government interoperability frameworks that promote public sector integration. This is accomplished by the development of digital gateways that mediate the conversations across different public platforms.

Having a blockchain platform to support and enhance interoperability by ensuring the integrity and transparency of the public sector certainly has enormous potential El-dosuky and El-adl, The same goes for many of the other core areas of traditional e-government. Blockchains can also have potential in enhancing state capacity. Many developing countries have designed decentralization or devolution strategies where both policymaking and fiscal management shifts from central governments to those in regions, states, and municipalities.

Implementation of such policies has however been challenging, particularly in low-income countries. Lack of overall capacity has been one of the main challenges local governments face accompanied by a potential decrease in fiscal resources. Enter blockchains. For example, governments could set up one blockchain platform, a GovChain, to cater to all local governments. Financial resources could thus flow within the Gov-chan vis smart contacts, while local government offices can use the platform to support other government activities such as public information disclosure.

This is an area that might have great potential but remains largely unexplored De Santis, Along the same lines, it is possible to make a case for distributed policymaking. Many developing countries are characterized by socio-economic, cultural and geographical diversity that comprehensive national policies tend to ignore for the sake of universality.

At the same time, many countries also have national, regional, and local development plans that, for the most part, are not necessarily in sync.

Finding a middle of the road approach where local diversity shines but, at the same time, falls within broader development policies set at higher levels of government is feasible. Again, a GovChain could make a key difference here. While complex, the challenges for adopting blockchains in the public sector of developing countries are not insurmountable. On the other hand, the opportunities are just starting to pop-up and could be harnessed in the short-term if the links between technology, sustainability and government institutions are brought to the fore.

Developing countries are, for the most part, playing catch-up when attempting to harness the latest digital technologies such as blockchains, among many others. This set of countries has also endorsed internationally-agreed development goals while devising their own national and subnational development plans. While juggling such agendas is not simple, governments can play an important role in promoting the link between technology and development while enticing all other actors and sectors to act in concert.

Undoubtedly, governments should lead when it comes to the modernization of public institutions, the deployment of digital government and the provision of public goods. This paper develops a conceptual framework aimed at grasping the dynamics between sustainable development, governments in the Global South and ICTs, introducing state capacity as both a means and an end. State capacity is required to achieve the various development goals and harness ICTs effectively.

Building state capacity is also a goal that will ensure development gains can be sustained in the long haul. The framework is then used to assess the relevance of blockchain technologies in such dynamics While still technologically evolving, blockchains offer unique traits and benefits that could make a difference if deployed strategically within governments in developing countries. Unfortunately, on the ground evidence of blockchain implementation is still emerging while a closer examination of its relationship with digital government is almost absent.

Use cases still dominate the scene and the core assumption is that blockchains will prevail as the overall disruptor with no partners in sight. However, early evidence suggests that blockchains can add value when deployed as part of a team of digital technologies working in sync. Early implementations also indicate that adequate institutional support and endorsement are critical, especially from the public entities promoting digital government that had already identified a range of priorities as key targets.

Nevertheless, risks still abound, stemming from the limitations of the technology itself and its complexity, and calls for rapid institutional change which could push back existing political will.

In addition, issues related to implementation costs and actual project management need further exploration. The distributed nature of blockchain technology and its implications for governance systems has also upstaged digital government concerns.

While linked to ongoing discussions on algorithmic governance concerning Artificial Intelligence and all its cousins, a blockchain-based perspective connecting these dots is missing in action. Developing countries with low capacity states and nascent capitalist development might find such new governance options less palatable given pressing sustainable development demands and calls to sustain democratic governance regimes.

If it is a real institutional technology, then blockchain technology should be a critical enabler for innovative institutional development. Blockchains could also deliver the goods within existing institutional settings, thus making institutional change a matter of human agency, not technology. And that would undoubtedly be a critical achievement that could contribute to resilient long-term sustainable development. Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Instead, the concept includes nation-states that are at various stages of development as measured for example by the World Bank country income or lending categories, or the UNDP human development index, among others. Furthermore, development is a moving target as countries can and should travel across the various development categories in the medium-term, with some even transferring into the industrialized-country team, eventually. The latter has grown exponentially since the late s and propelled economic growth in industrialized countries McKinsey, Governments however cannot outsource such functions so easily.

Ethereum smart contracts have their own blockchain accounts which function in distinct fashion vis-a-vis user accounts. For example, the latest literature review on the subject published last Summer was only able to identify twenty one relevant papers Batubara et al.

Only six were published in academic journals. Moreover, most of these papers take a sectoral approach focusing on topics such as electoral processes, healthcare, and education, to menton a few.

Alexandre, A. Kenyan gov't to use blockchain in new affordable housing project. Google Scholar. Andreasson, K. Andrikopoulos, V. Asadullah, M. Poverty reduction during — did millennium development goals adoption and state capacity matter?

World Dev. Atzori, M. Batubara, F. Baydakova, A. UN food program to expand blockchain testing to african supply chain. CoinDesk blog. Berryhill, J. Blockchains Unchained. Beyer, S. PubMed Abstract Google Scholar.

Bishr, A. Dubai: a city powered by blockchain. Innovations 12, 4—8. BreakerMag BreakerMag blog. Brown, A. How much evidence is there really? Mapping the evidence base for ICT4D interventions. Casey, M. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. Comin, D. If technology has arrived everywhere, why has income diverged?

Coppi, G. Cozzens, S. Davidson, S. Blockchains and the Economic Institutions of Capitalism. De Filippi, P. Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of Code. De Santis, R. Dexter, S. Mango Research blog. Diallo, N. Dutton, T. Dwyer, R. El-dosuky, M. GIZAChain: e-government interoperability zone alignment, based on blockchain technology.

PeerJ Preprints 7:ev1. Estevez, E. Electronic governance for sustainable development — conceptual framework and state of research. Falkon, S. The story of the DAO — its history and consequences.

Medium blog. Fernando, A. Interested blockchain for social impact? Here are the projects you should know. Ferrarini, B. Distributed Ledger Technologies for Developing Asia. Manila: Asian Development Bank. Foster, C. Why efforts to spread novel ICTs often fail. Frankenreiter, J. The limits of smart contracts. Gomez, R. The changing field of ICTD: growth and maturation of the field, — Electron J. Guarda, D. Gulf News Harry CultHub blog. Hau, M. Heeks, R. E-government as a carrier of context.

Public Policy 25, 51— Do information and communication technologies ICTs contribute to development? Hernandez, K. Blockchain for Development — Hope or Hype? Hughes, L. Blockchain research, practice and policy: applications, benefits, limitations, emerging research themes and research agenda.

IDB Illinois Blockchain Initiative The Illinois Blockchain Initiative. ITU Core List of Indicators. Janowski, T. Implementing sustainable development goals with digital government — aspiration-capacity gap.

Janssen, M. Lean government and platform-based governance—doing more with less. Jones, M. Smart dubai launches blockchain-based payments for government. The Block blog. Juskalian, R. MIT Technology Review. Kapoor, K. Rogers' innovation adoption attributes: a systematic review and synthesis of existing research. Kenyan Wallstreet Kenyan Wallstreet blog. Kewell, B. Blockchain for good? Change 26, — Lamport, L. Time, clocks, and the ordering of events in a distributed system.

ACM 21, — Lemieux, V. Evaluating the use of blockchain in land transactions: an archival science perspective. Law J. Levi, S. Macrinici, D. Smart contract applications within blockchain technology: a systematic mapping study. McKinsey Meadows, D. Millard, J. Open governance systems: doing more with more. Murphy, J. Ndou, V. E-government for developing countries: opportunities and challenges. Nelson, P.

On the contrary, unbelievers will blame blockchain for merely patterning operations that are already functioning pretty well. Domjan, in his turn, admits that registering novel assets on this ledger may take a lot of time from hours to months due to its distributed nature, whereas in the traditional electronic commerce one day is a maximum.

Hence, according to his words, blockchain is not the best replacement for current processes. However, such a statement is only relevant for the developed world. But when it comes to the emerging-market economies, like African, Asian nations and former Soviet republics, which struggle because of amiss and precarious systems of estate possessions registration, blockchain may change everything.

As examples of blockchain adoption, which permits to register anything, the analyst named Estonia and Ukraine. The first one launched the public scrivener services system called BitNation. One of its functions is to admit marriages, registered in it. In Ukraine, on the other hand, developers are working on the blockchain-based election platform. According to the analyst, it is near all the same for contracts. For instance, one can issue a deed to estate once the payment is concluded.

This is a novel scenario in developing countries, and it has all the chances to work out. Additionally, Domjan explains that in the emerging-market nations blockchain can be helpful for remittance. Directly speaking, developing nations can make use of cyber money, based on this tech. As he stressed out, cryptos can be profitable for countries, which have extremely unstable public currencies, which suffer from hyperinflation, maladministration, and high remittance fees and so on.

Against such a background virtual money, even with all their flaws, might seem manna from heaven. Bitcoin 24 h. Bitcoin Cash 24 h. Ethereum 24 h. Latest Update: Jan 29, Saving Emerging Markets From Stagnation However, such a statement is only relevant for the developed world. Not By Property Alone Additionally, Domjan explains that in the emerging-market nations blockchain can be helpful for remittance.

Latest Update: Dec 25, People tend to send remittances using bitcoin and its brethren more shows new research by a BLT-centered research company.

Such a spike can be explained Latest Update: Oct 30,

BreakerMag blog. The other is the result of the integration and interaction among them. Can blockchain and cryptocurrencies now become the technology that truly levels the playing field for humanity and help continue the reduction of poverty? Labels used to countries.pdf this link include blockchain blockchain social good Podder countries.pdf Venkat, ; BreakerMag,blockchain for social impact Fernando,and blockchain for developing change Verlhust and Developing,the latter being a research project. On the other hand, developing country governments should not attempt to drive development agendas blockchain their own. The evidence compiled so far, which is still incipient, suggests that the technology can deliver when explicitly linked to both digital government institutional instances and digital government priorities and gaps.

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Potential Impact of Blockchain Technology in Developing Countries

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Leapfrogging: Blockchain Technology To Accelerate Developing Nations

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