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Satoshi Nakamoto invented the Bitcoin blockchain as a way for people to carry out financial transactions without the need for banks or governments. So it is ironic that one of the biggest references to the world of blockchain – shared cryptographic registers inspired by the one that underlies Nakamoto's invention – is the World Bank, which is owned by governments. It makes sense, however, says Prema Shrikrishna, who works in the bank's Technology Innovation Lab, because the goal of her organization for her recently launched blockchain lab is to "put power back into people's hands".
It is still very early in the process, but laboratory experiments in education, traceability of the agricultural and pharmaceutical supply chain and financial services are already providing valuable lessons, Shrikrishna said today at the MIT Technology Review's EmTech conference.
This year, the World Bank has partnered with Consensys, a company focused on developing applications that use Ethereum, to explore how blockchain technology can help improve a platform on the stage called Evoke. The first goal is to give project donors more transparency about how their money is used, explained Shrikishna. The next step will be to find ways to use cryptographic tokens to encourage students to participate and complete certain tasks.
Shrikrishna also explained how the bank is experimenting with a mix of information technology, including blockchain, to understand how to bring more transparency to the palm oil industry chain. Blockchains can offer the opportunity to use crypto-token to encourage palm growers and brokers between the farm and the mill to incorporate higher quality fruit data as it goes through the chain, he said.
The more concrete blockchain The application based on the World Bank has so far developed a recently issued link with the help of an Australian bank that uses a private version of Ethereum. Bonds are a huge part of the bank's operations – they issue over $ 50 billion of bonds each year to raise funds for sustainable development. So far, the blockchain-based bond has raised about $ 80 million. Shrikrishna said that the goal of the project is to explore how blockchain technology can make it easier for investors to access the market while increasing the transparency of funding. The bond has an unusually short duration of two years, which according to Shrikishna will give the bank the opportunity to quickly learn from experience, adapt to the technological innovations that may emerge in the meantime and "issue the next link with a very high level. higher trust ".
