Blockchains and the G20 : Building an Inclusive, Transparent and Accountable Digital Economy

Blockchain technologies hold the key to building an inclusive global digital economy that is auditably secure and transparently accountable to the world’s citizens. At a time when governments must fight to restore the public’s faith in cross-border economic cooperation, blockchains can play a critical role in strengthening economic resilience while ensuring the global economy works to the benefit of all. The G20 must take decisive steps to harness this technology in service of its policy goals across the core focus areas of economic resilience, financial inclusion, taxation, trade and investment, employment, climate, health, sustainable development and women’s empowerment. Failure to do so risks further fragmenting the global economy, undermining public trust in international economic institutions, and pushing the most cutting-edge blockchain developments into Dark Web deployments that are beyond the reach of government influence. This paper suggests specific actions the G20 governments should take to embrace blockchains’ socially beneficial properties and minimize their potential downside risks, thereby laying the foundation for a more just, prosperous and truly shared global economy