When it comes to blockchain, you either believe in it, have some doubts, or don’t quite get it.
Alibaba's blockchain embrace: A watershed moment for financial transparency?
China's giant e-commerce platform Alibaba recently announced that it will use blockchain technology to boost transparency in the country's philanthropy sector. Will the endorsement from one of the world's fastest-growing companies be enough to mainstream blockchain as a tool for open governance and development?
The emerging technology that runs on a distributed ledger has become increasingly associated with transparency, accountability and open governance because of its supposedly tamper-proof design.
In theory, blockchain is intended to provide near immutable records for any assets or payment flows. Those security components have made blockchain a potentially attractive technology for global development actors.
National governments have been experimenting with the potential use of blockchain to manage land registries.
Banks and e-commerce companies are experimenting with it to design “smart contracts” to execute transactions. And perhaps the most popular application of blockchain technology, the virtual currency bitcoin, has been drawing windfall investments.
Is blockchain all it’s cracked up to be? Watch the DevExplains video above for more on what exactly blockchain is, the technology behind it, how it can be used for global development efforts, as well as its potential drawbacks.
About the author
Naki B. Mendozamfbmendoza
Naki is a former reporter, he covered the intersection of business and international development. Prior to Devex he was a Latin America reporter for Energy Intelligence covering corporate investments and political risks in the region’s energy sector. His previous assignments abroad have posted him throughout Europe, South America, and Australia.
