1.
Blockchain for Governments:
ideas to move from hype to reality
Miquel Estapé
Deputy CEO
Open Government of
Catalonia Consortium
Amsterdam, 19th June 2019

2.
Agenda
1. WhyBlockchain in Government ?
2. What is the current situation ?
3. What are the limitationsof Blockchain ?
4. An use case: Self Sovereign Identity ?

3.
Government acts as an Intermediary
Oldest writing (2500 BC)
Sumerian (Iraq)
Account of silver
First coin (600 BC)
Lydia (Turkey)
Why?

4.
Blockchain is a disruptive technology
Builds trustworthy transactions between
parties without intermediaries
It may disrupt
Governments

5.
Currently, there
are very few
blockchain
services live in
Government and
all of them are
at early stages
Situation

6.
Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Government, 2018
“It will be at
least 5 years
until the tech
matures and
begins to deliver
benefits, but it
will lead to
radical
transformation”

7.
The blockchain is neither
transformative nor
disruptive for the public
sector (so far)
We have not observed the
creation of new business
models, new services nor
disintermediation of
public institutions involved
in the provision of gov
functions
Truly transformative
services are missing from

8.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”
Sun Tzu
Record metadata
logs, no ‘information’
Not cheap
Not fast
Anonymity &
no confidentiality
Not easy to scale
Nobody is liable
Limitations

9.
Blockchain is not a mature tech in Gov (yet)
Governments have
the responsibility to:
• learn, experiment
and evaluate
disruptive tech
• promote
prototypes and
pilots of
innovative public
services

10.
Two approaches about applying the Blockchain
‘Good to Great’ J. Collins
Successful companies
do not adopt a new
tech just because it is
the latest trend.
If it does align with
your mission and
strategy, then they
become a pioneer.
But, if it isn’t, then
you should ignore it.
1st Approach
• The blockchain can be
used in any use case
• Criteria: media impact
• Learn about how to
use the tech (not
about its value)
• Risk to create
problems where we
already have good
solutions
2nd Approach
• Identify challenges
not solved with
current tech
• Understand the
limitations of the
blockchain
• Analyze if the
blockchain can help
• Learn about the
blockchain value

11.
Identity
Smart
Contracting
Track & Trace
Creating positive social change

12.
+70 accounts per user
Identity

13.
Challenges about the Digital Identity
• Inefficient and Insecure
– Fragmented. Time-consuming. Annoying. Not safe
• Lack of a Digital Identity is a barrier
– 80% Internet users vs 35% e-transactions (Gov)
• A global world, a global identity
– Synergies between public & private sector
– eID success cases: private (10xDay) + public sector (3xYear)
• Savings
– 18€ per online transaction
– User/password management is very costly

14.
What is “identity”?
49
Engineer
PDD in IESE
Works in AOC
Lives in la Roca
Health records
Friends
+3000 Linkedin contacts
+1.500 twitter contacts
Public Management Society
Lawer
Notary
Bank
Insurance

15.
SSI Principles
• Self-managed identity
–Gov does not ”own” the eID
–No central authority controls it
• Consent Driven
–Control of personal data: privacy
• Portable
• Open by Default
• International Standards
• Secure & Trustworthy

16.
On boarding Service Provider
Gov
Identity
Hub
Blockchain Network
Citizen
Gov
onsite
Private
onsite
Online Gov
Digital Certificate
Facial recognition
Public
Hub
Private
Log
Claim
Issuer
Register
Identity Proofing
Request
Transaction
Verify
Wallet
DID
Authentication
Verification
Public PrivateLog

17.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this presentation belong solely to the author,
and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
Thanks for your attention !
Miquel Estapé