Blockchain and Digital Currency

Digital assets and digital currency are based on blockchain technology. Blockchain is a record-keeping system with two important attributes: First, information stored via blockchain is distributed, with copies spread across multiple computers. This redundancy helps safeguard the accuracy and authenticity of the record and makes it extremely difficult to manipulate information stored in the system. Second, blockchain-based records are designed to be permanent. They are easy to update, but exceptionally hard to erase. Beginning with the advent of Bitcoin in 2008, technologists have been using blockchain to create highly secure digital ledgers as a mechanism for tracking and verifying ownership of digital assets such as virtual currency.

Blockchain and digital assets remain frontier technologies, but they provide the foundation for a rapidly growing number of applications related to philanthropy and social impact. Readers looking for additional background on the use of blockchain in public interest applications may want to consult the Blueprint for Blockchain and Social Innovation and the Blockchain Impact Ledger. These resources address a broad range of questions surrounding the technology and its current use in the social and public sectors.