The blockchain technology is all set to alter the norms of our society; the future holds days that seem next to impossible or mere dreams.

Now and then we hear an influential personality or politician talk about the merits and demerits of the blockchain. Is it because the blockchain is overhyped or it’s because we have a revolution in the making?  Well, only time can answer this complicated answer.

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The blockchain is not only influencing the decision-making processes in governments but also has the potential to change the voting mechanism.

The numerous application of the blockchain makes its adoption by governments across the globe inevitable. The governments are using the blockchain technology in the tax department, motor registry, land and titles, business registration and registration of births, deaths and marriages. There are yet other horizons to explore versatile applications of the blockchain technology.

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Let us explain the above-stated blockchain trends.

The USA – Blockchain has gained regional success and acceptance in the USA, but there still lie hurdles in implementation of blockchain in the larger USA.

The Columbia Science and Technology Law Review, in its report, stated that the regulatory responses to emerging technologies, and to the blockchain, in particular, range from excitement to suspicion to indifference.

In June 2015, the New York state became the first state in the U.S. to regulate virtual currency companies through state agency rulemaking, although it did not enact state-wide legislation to recognize blockchain for record-keeping purposes.

2017 saw more than 8 U.S. states work on bills accepting or promoting the use of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, while a couple of them have already passed them into law.

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The most significant developments for blockchain’s regulation and implementation in the U.S. occurred in Arizona (recognition of smart contracts), Vermont (blockchain as evidence), and Chicago (real estate records).

May 2018, witnessed the historic regulation in the Delaware House that allows registration of businesses and trading on blockchain platforms. In light of the bill, Delaware State awarded IBM the contract to design the Distributed ledger. To ensure cooperates enlisted in the state enjoy smart contracts, the state is all set to launch a proof of stake concept.

The UK – On August 3rd, 2016, UK’s Government, launched an application Blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) up for purchase which was used for paying welfare checks and disbursing student loans. The platform can be bought by any government agency in the UK, and then it can build services and deploy to the general public.

Switzerland – On November 15th, 2017, the government of Zug province of Switzerland launched the issuance of digital IDs based on ETH. The involvements in the blockchain world have earned Switzerland the status of ‘cryptovalley’.

Australia -The Queensland state in Australia has been using blockchain efficiently to boost tourism. The government has granted TravelbyBit, a start-up to lead the act by allowing easy payments of services and good through crypto.

The Queensland Innovation Minister Kate Jones said in his statement, “Tourism is one of Queensland’s most important industries. TravelByBit has devised a clever way to make it easier for visitors to our state to pay for their purchases with a growing number of local businesses accepting cryptocurrency payments.”

The state has even allocated AUD $100,000 to TravelByBit for capacity improvement and expansion within the state.

Dubai – The UAE government has a long-term relationship with the blockchain. It has laid an objective of being the capital for blockchain technologies and has plans to implement blockchain use cases in all government departments.

In conciliation with the Global Blockchain Council, the Dubai government plans to roll out blockchain supported initiatives in this year. The projects will be in cooperated in many government departments like:

• Education
• Energy
• Healthcare
• Road and Transport

The government of Dubai has already partnered with IBM in the trade and logistics field to give a boost to its ambitious project.

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European Union – The European Union has been very positive towards transformations due to the blockchain. It has been encouraging the exploration of use cases to test impact and laws and giving entrepreneurs’ confidence that their “approved” applications will be more trusted by their target markets.

In a statement by European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel Said,“Blockchain is a great opportunity for Europe and member states to rethink their information systems, to promote user trust and the protection of personal data, to help create new business opportunities and to establish new areas of leadership, benefiting citizens, public services and companies.”

Ukraine – The government of Ukraine plans to implement blockchain to make voting more accountable and transparent.

A member of the Ukraine Electoral team revealed that the country was on the trial stages and taking into account all the logistics that will be needed to pilot the voting on the NEM blockchain in August 2018, on his Facebook account.

India – Though the government of India banned cryptocurrencies; it is optimistic about the potential of the blockchain to revive its policies and resource distribution.

Indian Finance minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, said in his budget speech made on February 1st, 2018, that the government wants out to research blockchain. The aim is to promote the digital economy which is efficient and transparent.

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