?>

Countries that are Experimenting with Blockchain Technology

2.2 k views
Countries that are Experimenting with Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology first appeared in the public spotlight in 2009 with the birth of Bitcoin. Since then, it has gone through several stages of development and innovation, and its future of potential applicability is brighter than ever.

Numerous financial institutions and companies are testing the waters of blockchain technology. Some of them are knee-deep near the shores of predictability. Others are already backstroking in the distance. And on the waterfront, one can see the governments dipping in their toes and mulling over a casual dog-paddle and a belly flop.

Public institutions cannot stay away for too long from potentially successful technologies. So here are the countries experimenting with blockchain to improve their services and keep pace with the private sector!

The U.S.A

The United States Government is eager to implement blockchain technology in as many sectors as possible. For example, in 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) teamed up with IBM Watson Health to process health data and secure patient records in a high-security, anti-fraud system.

In 2018, Homeland Security and Austin-based startup Factom came together for a trial blockchain project. The aim is to create a reliable database of all the video footage and data the border patrol cameras capture.

The United Kingdom

The UK is looking at blockchain technology to ease its post-Brexit life. In 2018, the country’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced that it used a distributed ledger system to track the distribution of meat products in a cattle slaughterhouse. The success of this project forced the government to seek ways of implementation in other departments as well.

China

China has a love-hate relationship with blockchain technology. After spending almost a decade bad-talking cryptocurrencies, the Chinese government took a controversial 180-degree turn on the prospect of blockchain implementation.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced in 2019 that the country should increase its efforts to use distributed ledger technology. The government quickly backed up the president’s demand by passing laws that would facilitate country-wide blockchain utilization.

Japan

Japan is working closely with the European Central Bank to implement a blockchain-based system called Stella. The resulting platform should improve financial market infrastructure and increase the security of settlement contracts in the industry.

Switzerland

Zug is a small Swiss town that does not deny its addiction to blockchain technology. The authorities have already used it for ID processing and storage and to implement a voting system. The Swiss government has noted Zug’s success with blockchain-based projects and now promotes them in other cantons to improve public services.

Georgia

The Georgian Government initiated a blockchain project with Bitfury Group to help citizens register their properties as part of the National Agency of Public Registry. In the process, the state saved significant funds on paperwork and logistics. Also, the people have an unalterable blockchain record of their ownership.

Estonia

Estonia is a front-runner in the race for blockchain implementation. The small Baltic country is the creator of KSI, a high-security protocol for blockchain systems and networks. More than 180 countries in the world use it at the moment.

Estonia is also using blockchain technology to fight corruption and data theft. The government has a high-tech program called e-Estonia that connects the databases of several governmental agencies. As a result, public data regarding health records, judiciary information, and commercial registries come together to create a virtual profile of every citizen.

Denmark

Denmark is one of the first countries to embrace blockchain technology. In 2014, the Danish Social Democratic Party was the first political institution to use a blockchain-based voting system. Its success prompted the government to look into implementing it for other national and presidential campaigns. The project is currently in the experimentation stage.

Gibraltar

The first regulated digital token issued by a European nation was BitcoinETI in Gibraltar’s tiny British overseas territory in 2016. It was shortly followed by Rock Token (RKT), which became available on a subsidiary blockchain for its stock exchange (GBX).

Uganda

The Government of Uganda has collaborated with tech startup MediConnect to track medical drugs in the country. With the help of a blockchain-based data system, they hope to prevent medicine counterfeiting. In addition, the platform would provide a reliable supply chain between pharmaceutical companies and local retailers.

Brazil

Brazil has a new ally in its heavy war with deep-rooted corruption in the form of blockchain technology. One of its states, Bahi, works to implement a blockchain-based system that would make public bids on contracts transparent and less prone to fraud and nepotism. The program receives funding from the World Bank, and it is a small but significant step in monitoring public funds in Brazil.

Venezuela

The desperate drowning of the Venezuelan economy is no longer a secret. The country’s soaring hyperinflation has led to a staggering increase in crime, hunger, and poverty. However, it has also led to Venezuela becoming the first state to issue a digital currency in Petro.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro hopes to revive the abject state of his country through blockchain technology. He backs the success of Petro on the immense resources of oil, gold, and iron that are more or less at his disposal. Plans to force citizens to pay for only passports with cryptos are underway.

Unfortunately, not too many investors are buying into his idea. Accusations of intellectual theft and cloning of the open-source crypto Dash have hampered the first governmental-issued digital token development even further.

Singapore

Singapore is currently working on a country-scale blockchain system called Project Ubin. It is a never-before-seen collaboration between banks and tech companies that aims to improve the country’s payment system. The result should lead to instant currency conversions free of intermediary taxes.

Dubai

Bitcoin coin symbol
Btc
Bitcoin
$62.547
price
red chart
decrease symbol0.84959%
price change
TRADE NOW

The UAE’s most ambitious and tech-oriented emirate is looking to take blockchain use a step further. Dubai wants to be the first government in the world to run all of its transactions through blockchain by 2020. The officials estimate a significant cost reduction of more than $1 billion per year merely by processing visas, contracts, and other documents through this technology.

Previous

WMA: Bulls get behind Bitcoin and Ethereum while XRP waits on the annual Swell Boost

Next

Why ICOs & IEOs are doomed and why STOs will be the next form of fundraising

Written by

565 posts

Born and raised in Romania, currently living in Spain. Iulian discovered a knack for writing from a tender age, won some minor awards for fiction that didn't pay much.

VIEW AUTHOR

More author posts

WMA: Bitcoin Clings onto $62,000 Amid Extreme Market Volatility

Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum experiences no changes and stagnates at around $2,400. XRP is down by 2%, Solana by 1%, and Dogecoin by 3%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around…

WMA: Bitcoin Tumbles to $62,000 as the Market Takes a Dip

Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin is down by over 5% to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum decreased by almost 9% to trade at around $2,400. XRP is down by 15%, Solana by 8%, and Dogecoin by 13%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value…

Dypius Launches 3 New and Exciting Mini-Games with Direct Rewards on Base

Dypius delighted the gaming community by introducing three captivating new mini-games: Stone Crack, Kitty Dash, and CAWS Adventure. The games spur from the successful use of Base's secure Layer-2 technology and promise smooth, low-cost, decentralized gameplay. Players can already dive into the new Dypius games and compete in dedicated leaderboards and in-game rewards distributed directly on Base. Boasting cutting-edge graphics and engaging gameplay, these games deliver an accessible and rewarding gaming experience for all kinds of players. Stone Crack, Kitty Dash,…

WMA: Bitcoin Soars to $66,000 as the Market Sees Green All-Around

Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,31 trillion. Bitcoin is up by over 5% to trade at around $65,700. Ethereum increased by almost 4% to trade at around $2,660. XRP is up 11%, Solana 10%, and Shiba Inu 36%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the green, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector increased the total value of protocols…

World of Dypians Reaches New Prestige Level by Making Binance’s Latest Industry Report

World of Dypians (WOD) - a unique, groundbreaking MMORPG, has been featured in the latest Binance report, “Navigating Crypto: Industry Map." Binance is renowned for its in-depth reports showcasing some of the industry's most promising projects. Featuring Binance's overview of the crypto ecosystem is a momentous event for WOD, a game that has been building through innovation and creativity to deliver unmatched gaming experiences since day one. Binance’s The Industry Map looks at multiple subcategories of the crypto industry, such…

WMA: Bitcoin Surges to $62K as the Market Prepares for Altcoin Season

Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,19 trillion. Bitcoin is up by over 4% to trade at around $62,700. Ethereum increased by almost 76% to trade at around $2,570. XRP is up by 1%, Solana by 6%, and Shiba Inu by 4%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the green, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector has grown significantly,…

Publish your own article

Guest post article. Guaranteed publishing with just a few clicks

START PUBLISHING ADVERTISE WITH US

Browse categories

Explore trending topics in the crypto community right now.

Bitcoin

SEC Greenlights Multiple Bitcoin ETFs, Signaling Major Leap for Cryptocurrency Markets

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made a landmark decision by approving 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This move represents a significant moment in the cryptocurrency industry, marking a shift towards greater institutional adoption and accessibility for investors. The approved ETFs include products from major firms such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust, WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin…

Bitcoin Should be Banned in the United States: Charlie Munger

Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, Charlie Munger, called for a ban on cryptocurrency in the United States on Monday, similar to the one in China.  In an op-ed published with the Wall Street Journal, Munger argued that Bitcoin isn’t a currency, commodity, or security, but simply a form of gambling “ with a nearly 100% edge for the house. As such, the enactment of a federal law should ban such things from happening. Munger cited the Chinese communist party’s ban on…

Tesla’s BTC Positions Remained Unchanged in Q4 of 2022

According to a new earning report from automotive manufacturer Tesla, the company did not sell any of its BTC holdings in the fourth quarter of 2022. Amid speculations that the company had traded BTC during the testing bears, CEO Elon Musk revealed it was yet holding on to its BTC stash. Tesla Maintains Holdings After Initial Sell-Off In Q2 of 2022, Tesla opted to sell 75% of all its BTC. The car manufacturer received close to $950M in exchange. Notably,…

Here’s When Grayscale Debates the SEC in Court on its Bitcoin Spot ETF

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has marked a date for when Grayscale and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may present oral arguments regarding the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF.  Each side will present its case at 9:30 am ET on March 7, with the SEC arguing against the product, and Grayscale arguing in favor.  Grayscale VS SEC The court date – revealed in a court order filed on Monday according to CNBC – is much earlier…

MORE ARTICLES

Ethereum

Ethereum’s Zhejiang Staking Withdrawal Testnet for Shanghai is Live

At 15:00 UTC on Wednesday, the much-anticipated Zhejiang testnet for staking withdrawal went live on Ethereum’s Beacon chain. Zhejiang will enable the testing of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895 which allows for staking withdrawals. This is in preparation for the network’s next major update, the Shanghai hard fork slated to launch sometime in March. Users Can Make Simulated Withdrawals with Zhejiang In a tweet yesterday, DevOps engineer at Ethereum foundation Barnabas Busa gave details about the Zhejiang testnet slated…

Ethereum Devs Disagree Over Technical Tweak as Shanghai Upgrade Nears

Post-merge Ethereum users have been eagerly awaiting the commencement of the network’s next major upgrade, Shanghai. However, after over 3 months of prep time, it appears the Shanghai rollout isn’t going as smoothly as expected. What Exactly is the Shanghai Upgrade? In September last year, the much-publicized Ethereum Merge also known as the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade went live. Ethereum underwent some significant changes as its consensus mechanism transitioned from proof-of-work to a cost-efficient proof-of-stake system.  However, since the Beacon launch…

FTX Hacker Converts 50k Stolen ETH to BTC

Per a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, the attacker behind the Nov 11 FTX exploit, is converting the stolen ETH to Bitcoin. There were muted fears the seemingly inexperienced perpetrator could dump all its ETH holdings. On Sunday, the attacker dumped 50k ETH on-chain, with ETH's price dipping by almost 7%.  https://twitter.com/chainalysis/status/1594349583416840199?s=20&t=pgvQHeVytI20eKQ1ls9bxw Hacker Moves 50,000 ETH to New Address Over the past week, the perpetrator had been steadily swapping the cryptocurrencies they had carted off for Ether tokens. This…

Censorship Concerns: 51% of Ethereum Blocks Now OFAC Compliant

According to new data, over half of the blocks on the Ethereum network now reportedly comply with the US Treasury OFAC’s standards. This comes roughly a month after the platform’s monumental merge update. Phasing Out Tornado Cash The Office of Foreign Assets Control is the intelligence and enforcement agency of the US  Treasury Department. Indeed, the OFAC administers and enforces US  financial sanctions. A prime example of this is the recent, highly-publicized ban on crypto mixer Tornado Cash.  According to…

MORE ARTICLES

Trading

How to Leverage Arbitrage Opportunities in Crypto Markets

Cryptocurrency arbitrage has become an increasingly popular investment strategy as the crypto market grows and evolves. Arbitrage involves taking advantage of pricing discrepancies between markets or exchanges to profit.  Investors can leverage profit opportunities by understanding cryptocurrency arbitrage while managing associated risks. In this guide, we'll explore cryptocurrency arbitrage and how it works. A Bitcoin-related example will help us illustrate the concepts of this strategy. What is Arbitrage and How Does it Work in Crypto Markets Crypto arbitrage trading is…

The Different Types of Copy Trading in Crypto

Are you interested in trading cryptocurrencies but feel intimidated by the complexity of the process? Copy trading is a great way to get into crypto without needing to be an experienced trader. With copy trading, investors can benefit from the experience and knowledge of more experienced traders, allowing even beginners to succeed. How does copy trading work, and which tips do you need to know to succeed? In this article, we'll explore all aspects of copy trading in crypto. What…

How to Spot an Unsafe Crypto Exchange

Cryptocurrency exchanges have become increasingly popular as they provide a platform for people to buy and sell digital assets. Unfortunately, not all crypto exchanges are safe or reliable.  With the rise of cybercrime and fraud, you must learn to spot an unsafe crypto exchange before investing your money. This guide will help beginners identify and avoid potential risks when selecting a cryptocurrency exchange.  The Role of Crypto Exchanges on the Digital Assets Market Cryptocurrency exchanges play a crucial role in…

What Is Grid Trading in Crypto?

Crypto grid trading has become a popular strategy because of its ability to help traders capitalize on market volatility. Grid trading means you can produce consistent profits by taking advantage of price differences in different markets or time frames. By establishing buy and sell orders at predetermined intervals, you can take advantage of these fluctuations in an automated way. This guide will explore the different aspects of grid trading and provide an overview of its benefits, challenges, and more. Through…

MORE ARTICLES

Tech

Introducing una Messenger: A Paradigm Shift in Blockchain Connectivity

The digital landscape is set for an unprecedented transformation with the introduction of una Messenger, the latest innovation from web3 development powerhouse Wemade. This platform represents an evolution of the "PAPYRUS Messenger," serving as the cornerstone of the ambitious "unagi" initiative, aimed at catalyzing the mass adoption of blockchain technology. The "Unbound Networking & Accelerating Growth Initiative" seeks to bridge the divides between diverse blockchain services and networks, heralding a new era of interconnectedness. A New Frontier in Blockchain Communication…

Bit2Me Champions WEMIX Token in Pioneering European Listing

Bit2Me, Spain's premier virtual asset exchange, has recently broadened the horizons for cryptocurrency enthusiasts by listing WEMIX, the cornerstone token of the WEMIX3.0 blockchain ecosystem. This marks a notable achievement as WEMIX's inaugural venture into the European market, emphasizing the token's role in facilitating a range of blockchain-based activities, from gaming transactions to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Launched with the intention to democratize access to WEMIX for the 450 million Spanish speakers around the globe, this strategic move aligns with…

CryptoVirally Expands with Fresh Crypto Marketing Offers and Cointelegraph Upgrades

In an exciting update for the cryptocurrency marketing landscape, CryptoVirally has announced a series of new entries and enhancements to its already comprehensive range of services. These updates, aimed at providing tailored marketing solutions for crypto projects, include new limited-time offers and expanded options for Cointelegraph publications. Limited Offers: A Game-Changer in Crypto Marketing  CryptoVirally's limited offers section presents an enticing opportunity for crypto projects to leverage high-impact marketing services at discounted rates. These offers, available for a limited period,…

Breaking Boundaries in Blockchain: WEMIX’s ‘una Wallet’ Sets New Standard for Multi-Chain Asset Management

The WEMIX Foundation has unveiled 'una Wallet,' a revolutionary digital wallet designed to offer unparalleled convenience and security in managing digital assets across various blockchain networks. The announcement, made on January 17, 2024, signifies a new era in the seamless integration of multiple blockchain protocols, including Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum, Kroma, Optimism, Polygon, and WEMIX3.0. 'una Wallet' is more than just a digital wallet; it represents the culmination of WEMIX's innovative efforts in the blockchain space. It serves…

MORE ARTICLES