Blockchain Revolution

Blockchain Implications: The Blockchain Alliance is a partnership between law enforcement, NGOs, trade organizations, and the private sector and is the first true advocacy network to form in the space. Coin Center and the Chamber of Digital

Commerce, with support from BitFury, Bitfinex, BitGo, Bitnet, Bitstamp, Blockchain, Circle, Coinbase, and others, have partnered with law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI, the Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security. As we highlighted in the previous chapter, blockchain being co- opted by criminals on a widespread scale is a showstopper. These watchdogs have an important advocacy role as well. In the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, some European lawmakers, regulators, and law enforcement blamed bitcoin as the source of terrorism financing. The Blockchain Alliance called for patience: Let’s not regulate out of fear,⁶⁷ they said. As of this writing, we don’t know how effective they were, but surely in their absence things would have turned out worse, with government approaching the job unilaterally. Other than the self-policing role of community members who convene, collaborate, and debate on forums and on Reddit, few other watchdog networks have stepped up. Partnerships with law enforcement are a helpful start, but the blockchain ecosystem needs fully independent organizations, perhaps like traditional watchdogs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, to monitor governments, corporations, and other large institutions. Otherwise, we risk falling victim to another showstopper: that blockchain becomes a new and powerful surveillance tool used by corrupt and unscrupulous governments.

6. 
   Platforms
   

The digital age allowed organizations to be much more than closed, siloed institutions; they can also be platforms for value creation, innovation, and global problem solving. Organizations like Change.org empower individuals to initiate campaigns in support of social causes from human rights to climate change. A “petition platform” harnesses the collective force of millions of people and catalyzes their passion into lasting impact. Open data platforms can apply to many issues— from climate change to the blockchain.⁶⁸