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The new European Commission Joint Research Centre Report (fruit of the collaboration between the Digital Economy Unit (DG JRC) and the Interoperable Unit (DG DIGIT), provides an overview and analysis of the status of blockchain technology implementation in Europe’s public sector. An inventory of 167 blockchain technology use cases from national, regional and local European governments map the use of blockchain technology in public services. Each use case provides insights into the level of adoption of this technology.
The findings highlight the use of blockchain technology by public administrations as an overall positive trend and that blockchain technology could significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public administrations. However, public administration must take many steps before blockchain technology can solve their real-life challenges. The breaking down of barriers to blockchain technology adoption requires significant consideration by policymakers. Progress in this area will depend on increasing efforts to implement more large-scale use cases, facilitating collaboration between organisations and providing legal certainty. These results contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the topic by moving from a more theoretical and anecdotal view to a more systematic analysis based on concrete examples.