When the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, were conceived back in 2012, blockchain technology was in its early days. Few could have foreseen the trajectory and the potential of blockchain for advancing these ambitious targets. But today, we see opportunities for blockchain technology to recast conventional approaches to sustainable development — and accelerate progress if deployed responsibly. Macro trends of 2020 There are a number of macro trends this year in the world of blockchain and sustainable development that provide context. This has been — and will continue to be — an important year for laying the groundwork for major …

Some of the main functions of government institutions include redistribution of resources and maintaining official records. These are precisely the domains where blockchain technology — with its focus on facilitating secure, traceable transactions and maintaining immutable records to build trust — is well-positioned to make a strong impact. A recent report by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the latest to highlight blockchain technology’s potential to serve as a powerful tool in the fight against government corruption. This proposition, however, is only the latest in a long string of policy proposals and analytical reports that document the immense promise that …

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark published a report explaining the use of IT technologies and services including blockchain, e-governance, big data, and crowdsourcing to fight administrative, or day-to-day, corruption as well as political corruption. Presented during the International Anti-Corruption Conference, or IACC, the report emphasizes the use of blockchain as a technology that will build a more transparent governance and transaction system, further adding that it will also give individuals greater rights over their own data. According to the report, blockchain can be used as a potential anti-corruption tool as it has the ability to store records immutably …

The Chairman of Kazakhstan's anti-corruption service has called on the government to develop a national digital currency to fight corruption in the country. Alik Shpekbayev, chairman of Anti-corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reportedly said that national digital currencies like China’s digital yuan should contribute to a more transparent financial system. The news was reported by local news agency Kazinform on July 21. National digital currency is expected to cut cash transactions According to the official, an implementation of the national digital currency should inevitably reduce transactions in cash, which is one of major tools for illicit activity like …

The World Economic Forum (WEF) hopes to make corrupt activity in the public sector more difficult using blockchain technology. “Corruption is a ‘high-potential’ space for blockchain because you really benefit from decentralization; records are very difficult to remove or censor, for instance,” WEF blockchain project lead Ashley Lannquist told Cointelegraph. Lannquist is one of the authors behind a June report detailing how the WEF, the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia and the Inter-American Development Bank have formed, "a multistakeholder team to investigate, design and trial the use of blockchain technology for corruption-prone government processes." Corruption comes from the …

The Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) detailed how cryptocurrencies must be reported on yearly income declarations. Cryptocurrencies are categorized under the “intangible asset” section, though they are also mentioned by name. On March 2, the agency published a set of instructions on how to report ownership of various types of assets in a yearly income declaration. The declaration is mostly intended for government officials, though it must also be submitted by individuals with foreign income and freelancers without a business registration. Cryptocurrencies must be reported under the “intangible assets” section, which generally includes objects with an undefined value, …

Raul Lambino, the administrator of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) — the special economic zone that licenses cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the Philippines — has come under fire for allegations of corruption. On Feb. 20, The Manila Times published a story citing purportedly leaked from the Philippine National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA). The outlet claims that Lambino has unexplained wealth in the tens of millions of dollars. According to the NICA report: “It is now the general belief of many from Pangasinan, especially among provincial political leaders, that Lambino is the most liquid and moneyed government official in the …

This article has been updated to clarify that Medici Land Governance will give technical training, not trading, to local workers in Liberia. Overstock.com subsidiary Medici Land Governance has signed a memorandum of understanding with Liberia to help the African nation digitize government services, a news release announced on June 10. The pro bono pilot project will explore how Liberia can strengthen its economy through blockchain and enhance interoperability between government departments. As well as strengthen the country’s capacity to generate revenues, the release notes that such infrastructure could reduce corruption. During the project, local workers in Liberia will also be …

American software corporation Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost said that blockchain could fight corruption in the construction industry, finance and investment news outlet the Australian Financial Review reported Nov. 19. Founded in 1982, Autodesk manufactures software for the construction, architecture, media, and entertainment industries. In 2018, the company’s revenue was $2.06 billion. Speaking at the 2018 Autodesk University conference in Las Vegas, Anagnost reportedly said that blockchain technology could eliminate corruption in the construction industry, as well as deliver greater trust in the field. The Financial Review quotes Anagnost: "What is blockchain good at? It's a distributed, trusted ledger that cannot …

China has been on the verge of blockchain adoption as of late. The technology, in fact, has become part of the country’s national, president-signed program. The latest advancement in the field relates to the country’s old corruption staple — fake invoices used to embezzle corporate and state funds. Tax authorities of the city of Shenzhen and a state-owned aerospace firm have recently turned to blockchain for immutable and transparent record-keeping, steadily putting an end to paperback corruption. China’s complex ‘fapiao’ invoice system To understand the nature of the latest blockchain solutions for China’s invoicing system, its general context should be …