Blockchain: A Reliant Technology for Governments?

The usage of blockchain technology has been relatively high in recent years, with its adoption in several industries. Despite differing perspectives, governments and public sectors have recently embraced blockchain technology after comprehending the abilities it brings to nations.

As governments started to indulge in technology, it opened the door for the blockchain to become accessible to every household.

Through this, a wide range of effective applications can be developed, uniting diverse industries such as banking, entertainment, healthcare, and many more. As all the data are brought under a single source, it is easy to eliminate failures and oversee the quality of economic incentives the government provides its citizens.

Governments and the Public Sector Using Blockchain

Aside from private companies using blockchain, governments, and public sectors are keen on adopting the technology across various fields to enhance the infrastructure of their nations.

The distributed ledger and the underlying cryptography enable governments to protect sensitive user data from hacking, which is always a vulnerability in centralized systems.

Governments inducing blockchain-based welfare programs can increase the economic incentives gained to attain maximum potential.

Developing countries can also bring in advanced government funds and additional government schemes to widen blockchain usage across their people.

In the case of implementing any governmental schemes, the data are managed under a single point which enables smart contracts to automatically release government funds and assure quick and right usage of funds, which might be slower in centralized systems. This brings governments closer to the public than ever before.

Smart Cities and Metaverse Implications

Along with blockchain, some governments are also quick to endorse metaverse technology as the field’s development can create a relatively quick and seamless user interface for people to experience.

Smart cities are also considered the next futuristic technology that every government is striving to achieve, as it potentially benefits all people across the world.

As all operations are listed on-chain and open for everyone to see, integrating smart cities enables federal governments to create a degree of sustainable confidence and transparency within the government operations in the smart cities.

Since the data are stored on immutable ledgers, along with metaverse technologies, smart cities are brought to life with enticing advancement. This framework is designed based on people's needs and comes with spatial computing, which predicts occurrences within the city.

Features Smart Cities and the Metaverse Can Bring

The metaverse, which is considered the digital extension of smart cities, induces several elements to enhance experiences and improve user satisfaction. Some of the benefits that the smart cities and metaverse bring to the citizens are as follows:

• Smart Digital identities will be normalized, which enables the verification process to be performed in seconds. These are also helpful in utilizing the allocated government funds directly without going through any intermediary. 
• Everyone across the cities will be able to benefit from blockchain usage, despite their social status. This reduces the biased environment, which is prominent in a centralized system. 
• Blockchain-integrated smart cities can predict natural disasters and help people evacuate, reducing both financial and circumstantial losses.
• E-procurement will become normal, and the companies involved will be able to enjoy high-quality goods while reducing the usage of counterfeited products.
• Government administrations shall be made more citizen-friendly and cost-effective and pave the way towards more digitalized solutions to environmental issues.
• Land registrations will be managed on distributed ledgers and smart contracts to avoid misuse or forced acquisition.
• Smart cities shall have more educational resources, better healthcare systems, more robust infrastructural developments, etc.
• They can bring urbanization to remote areas, enhance the current transportation system, facilitate an efficient waste management environment, and propel many other initiatives smoothly.

Governments that Are in Plan to Adopt Blockchain Technology

Many governments have already utilized blockchain technology to help their citizens to enjoy the ripe fruit of decentralization. Some of these countries are:

1. United Arab Emirates - The financially flourishing capital of the UAE, Dubai, with the DIFC Court, has launched a ‘Court of Blockchain’ initiative to oversee legal proceedings through blockchain. This is estimated to reduce around 25 million man-hours and $1.5 billion per year.
2. South Korea - South Korea believes that the metaverse will transform the future. Thus, the officials from the capital, Seoul, have planned to build a metaverse. The beta launch in 2022 accommodated around 3000 user avatars and enabled them to explore their virtual Seoul city hall.
3. Illinois, US - The Illinois Blockchain Initiative is working towards decentralized storage. Details like identity numbers, voting IDs, and tax and employment details are added to the ledgers.
4. Japan - Recently, Japan’s digital ministry has proposed to create a DAO to help the management run smoothly by identifying riskier elements and solving them.

Aside from several governments adopting blockchain technology to develop their nations, financial elements are also enhanced by incorporating country-specific digital currencies by several countries.

Conclusion

All these diverse experimentations show the clear path of countries across the globe slowly adopting blockchain technology. In doing so, governments are able to create a robust national administrative infrastructure that also meets the needs of the people and allows the government to launch automated economic incentives.