Will the Government use the Blockchain as a tool for control?

[Blawpaw]

10 years ago, blockchain was just the technology behind Bitcoin, a currency used by the Drug lords in illegal markets on the Dark Web.
Today, the blockchain is seen as one of the technological wonders of our time. The way blockchain technology has been seen by society has been growing along the years. From the slums of the dark web to the hypothetical implementation of CBDCs, blockchain technology has been highly regarded as a technology that can be used by the government to help them with financial policies and a lot more.
 
In a few years, we will probably see the entry of CBDCs as state digital currencies supported by the blockchain technology, but this will not be something good. Rather than that, they will use it as a tool for control and monetary policy, so I do not think that what they want to do with it will benefit society. Much to the contrary, they already know what the potential of this technology actually is, and they will use it for something nefarious.
 
How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

[1713402933]

1713402933

[CryptoPanda]

CBDCs are already here, it’s no secret that governments around the world who were anti-bitcoin and even those who were on the fence about cryptocurrency are now publicly having discussions about CBDCs.
Like they say, a good thing in the hands of a bad man could very well be used for evil. The most common use of blockchain for government would be electoral process and health care sector, which in my opinion is a very good development. I don’t see how they can use blockchain technology to further their wars and make bombs. The blockchain is an open book so I think any malicious act that may be attempted could easily be traced back to the source thus discouraging such actions.

[ObscurePen]

The blockchain is an open book so I think any malicious act that may be attempted could easily be traced back to the source thus discouraging such actions.

The big issue that governments are trying to address is the anonymity factor that is provided by the blockchain. Although it is "open-book", addresses are essentially anonymous unless there is a way to stake them somewhere. And even then, using a mixer and a new address it is almost impossible to track the people holding funds.
I feel like if there was a way to use Blockchain technology which remains decentralised but gets rid of this anonymity factor and thus allowing investigators to track transactions and criminal activity, then governments and economic institutions would begin implementing Blockchain large-scale as this tech is quite obviously the future of the web. This is quintessential issue though is that getting rid of anonymity also means introducing a factor of centrality.

[Hydrogen]

How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

I would not expect governments to use blockchain in any legitimate capacity. Venezuela's attempt to rollout a CBDC cryptocurrency is our 1st indication of this.

While blockchain can be useful for eliminating middle men in a trust capacity, translating to greater efficiency and lower labor costs. There isn't much incentive in government to implement cost cutting measures. Lack of competition and incentive to produce efficient solutions to problems, trends more towards bloat, waste and abuse. Than it does an idyllic arrangement where problems are solved with a minimum of cost.

While blockchain is useful for other things, its best role could be validating transactions in assets like bitcoin.

A better question might be how blockchain can be used to improve upon existing technologies like BTC. Satoshi did an outstanding job on the engineering and development side of things. The next step could be devising methods to protect inflation protected HODL assets like bitcoin from wild speculation and prevent it from being traded as if it were an equity.

[bitmover]

CBDCs are already here, it’s no secret that governments around the world who were anti-bitcoin and even those who were on the fence about cryptocurrency are now publicly having discussions about CBDCs.

While governments can certainly use CBDC to increase their control , blockchain also allow us just to use bitcoin and use our freedom when we need.

Intensive use of Technology have reduced our privacy considerably over the last decades, and this movement will continue. However,  we now have an alternative to achieve some degree of privacy and freedom in our financial lives.

[Welsh]

Only if they implemented it in such a way that addresses had to be tied to government issued ID's, and they were centrally controlling when new addresses are allowed to be distributed. That way they can monitor everyone's cash flow, spending habits, and income. That would be the only way they'd be able to leverage the Blockchain to their advantage, at least one that makes sense.

Do I think it's going to happen? Potentially, but I don't think we're quite there yet. It's far more likely that they adapt their current system, and bring more regulation to Bitcoin. Edward Bernay's basically said that if you want to control a population, you need to give them the illusion of choice, and if they strong armed you into only using their currency, effectively banning alternatives, then you'd likely have people rebelling. Giving people the illusion of choice, but requiring them to use fiat for certain benefits would probably be the way to go.

Obviously, at the moment we aren't anywhere near the market share that would be required for the government to think about implementing something like this.

[lionheart78]

How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

It is very possible that for the government to use blockchain technology to keep track of people.  I believe they can use it to store their citizen information.  Aside from that, through blockchain technology, I believe they can able to track down individuals' financial capability and the transactions they made.  The wallet address will work out as a tagging system for every individual's financial statement and since blockchain tech is transparent, the government will easily identify the destination of every person's transaction.  This is a good way to control corruption but also a good way to see people's transactions like an open book.

[ObscurePen]

How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

It is very possible that for the government to use blockchain technology to keep track of people.  I believe they can use it to store their citizen information.  Aside from that, through blockchain technology, I believe they can able to track down individuals' financial capability and the transactions they maid.  The wallet address will work out as a tagging system for every individual's financial statement and since blockchain tech is transparent, the government will easily identify the destination of every person's transaction.  This is a good way to control corruption but also a good way to see people's transactions like an open book.

You can't keep track of people's addresses. I can just obtain a new address and use it, how is anyone going to know it is mine if I don't tell anyone?? Also mixers, obfuscate transactions so there is no way of telling where transactions come from. The only way to control anything is through how Welsh said it. See below.

Only if they implemented it in such a way that addresses had to be tied to government issued ID's, and they were centrally controlling when new addresses are allowed to be distributed. That way they can monitor everyone's cash flow, spending habits, and income. That would be the only way they'd be able to leverage the Blockchain to their advantage, at least one that makes sense.

The practicality of this however is questionable. How would one be able to control new addresses being distributed?

[PrivacyG]

10 years ago, blockchain was just the technology behind Bitcoin, a currency used by the Drug lords in illegal markets on the Dark Web.

I hate this.  Why do we have to assume that Bitcoin ever was the criminal's Currency?  Silk Road existed, that is a fact.  But I am convinced Bitcoin used to be mostly an obsession for geeks.  Of course some took advantage and used it in other ways.  Bitcoin did become more popular through things like Silk Road, I can not deny this, but it was not how it started.

Dark Web and Silk Road are being talked about in an overly exaggerated way.  It is always talked about as if you can do literally anything you can think of over there and it is not true.  Change my mind.

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It is very easy and can be applied even today.  Obligation to declare any and all Cryptocurrency addresses you own.  Any undeclared address is illegal and suspect.  But it sounds too brutal for now.  So if they actually want to do this, they will do it slow and steady.

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Regards,
PrivacyG

[Wexnident]

Something similar to how China tracks their citizens I guess? That's how I'd imagine governments would work if they wanted to create a system where everything is tracked. I wouldn't expect it in a few years though, especially if we consider how some security measures would probably be done to prevent us from bypassing their laws just by creating new addresses and using them instead when we want to avoid their eyes.

The practicality of this however is questionable. How would one be able to control new addresses being distributed?

Ban everything as illegal when it's not registered in their system. I reckon stores/services would automatically reject said addresses.

[Upgrade00]

Governments already has a lot of control in the current banking system, it allows then track flow of transaction, freeze accounts, reverse transactions and demand additional information should there be any suspicion of shady business, or on their discretion (depending on how corrupt the nation is). A CBDC based on the blockchain would just be replicating that level of control on a purely digital network, in the banking system, there's the alternative to hold cash, which cannot easily be tracked or restricted, but besides this, CBDC or fiat is basically one and the same.

A completely blockchain based system is not possible at this time, it would have to be supplemented with the traditional banking system.

[hd49728]

10 years ago, blockchain was just the technology behind Bitcoin, a currency used by the Drug lords in illegal markets on the Dark Web.

Many people used Bitcoin for other purposes, not only for drug sales or drug addiction. You miss a point there.

In a few years, we will probably see the entry of CBDCs as state digital currencies supported by the blockchain technology, but this will not be something good. Rather than that, they will use it as a tool for control and monetary policy, so I do not think that what they want to do with it will benefit society. Much to the contrary, they already know what the potential of this technology actually is, and they will use it for something nefarious.
 
How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

Governments started to apply blockchain technology for their CBDCs which are far under Bitcoin in quality. Their CBDCs are totally centralized and if you don't believe in their fiat currencies or felt disappointed with their inflationary fiat currencies, you won't support their CBDCs.

Anyway, if you skip Bitcoin and compare altcoins with CBDCs, I would like to choose CBDCs rather than altcoins especially newborn altcoins. It is like you can keep your savings in fiat currencies but should not keep your savings in altcoins.

[Darker45]

If it is the government that will use blockchain, then expect that it is used with a certain control mechanism. You don't expect the government to make use of a tool to let people have their absolute freedom. That's not how a government functions. As a matter of fact, if we go back to how governments are formed in the first place, theories would tell you that it's because we need to be controlled. In the process, we have to sacrifice a certain amount of our freedom.

Having said this, I don't expect the government to use the kind of blockchain that Bitcoin uses. For one, I can't imagine the government using an immutable blockchain for its CBDC.

[Hispo]

...
How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

I am not sure if governments would make use of blockchain technology, they seem to be very comfortable and have gotten used to centralized systems. The governments of the world themselves focus on the centralization of the power and even in the cases of the best democracies they only separate the power to a handful of departments.

They could go and try to implement blockchain technology for payment systems or patent registration, but they will likely program it so they can do whatever they want with their master key.

[Plaguedeath]

Blockchain can be used to track anyone especially if they're use private blockchain which only the developer and the core team know where the coins arrive and where the coins from. It will become worst since no one aware where the coins from and how they can hide it from governments, especially they need to KYC on the local exchanges so the government become more easy to track it. Unlike Bitcoin which is pseudonymous.

[irhact]

How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

From signs majority of the power houses around the world are showing, it seems they're open to the idea of a blockchain technology adoption but don't want to acknowledge the importance of Bitcoin to this technology. The sad part is that the cryptocurrency market has grown to the extent that each technology in the industry can stand on its own without the influence of Bitcoin but that doesn't mean bitcoin doesn't still have control over all the price of the cryptocurency in the market.
I see the government wanting to sideline Bitcoin as they try to paint it as harmful to the growth of their nation by calling it a dark currency been used by corrupt organization to launder money and the government will start financing this rumors just to make them more believable. Already we see movies been made and Bitcoin is always the currency been used when illegal money is been move around, and this aren't no coincidence but a plan to sidelines Bitcoin while the blockchain technology gets adopted but that won't work.

[avikz]

How do you see governments making use of the blockchain technology in a few years?

Governments are already harnessing the power of blockchain. Read this article below,

https://inc42.com/buzz/blockchain-this-week-west-bengal-districts-to-use-blockchain-for-issuing-birth-certificates-chinese-city-using-it-to-track-convicts-on-parole-and-more/

Having said that, these are not the only use cases where blockchain can be used. I specifically see blockchain is being used in maintaing land records. This is one area which can be explored to use blockchain at scale.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Ever since the introduction of bitcoin, many institutions, companies, organizations and government as a whole have been keen to the adoption of the blockchain technology already because of it secured and trusted network of protocols that it is built on, they now have the clear difference of this decentralized network from the centralized cloud storage system they have been using earlier before bitcoin and blockchain technology was introduced, i believe everything goes in a gradual process and with time, they will not only make use of the blockchain alone but together with bitcoin digital currency it was made with.

[davis196]

Do you really think that CBDCs are going to be based on blockchain technology? I don't think so.
The Blockchain has it's pros, but the main cons are wasting too much energy and not being able to handle billions of transactions per day.
The governments would most likely use a payment/transaction system, which doesn't waste that much electricity and can potentially handle a gigantic amount of transactions without getting stuck. I think that the governments would prefer a centralized transaction system, rather than trying to adopt blockchain technology. Perhaps they want a system with reversible transactions, which is a feature we don't want in the blockchain.

[Blawpaw]

CBDCs are already here, it’s no secret that governments around the world who were anti-bitcoin and even those who were on the fence about cryptocurrency are now publicly having discussions about CBDCs.
Like they say, a good thing in the hands of a bad man could very well be used for evil. The most common use of blockchain for government would be electoral process and health care sector, which in my opinion is a very good development. I don’t see how they can use blockchain technology to further their wars and make bombs. The blockchain is an open book so I think any malicious act that may be attempted could easily be traced back to the source thus discouraging such actions.

I do not think that governments around the world are interested in using blockchain technology to improve the electoral process. If they did they were already using it, as we already have the means and tech do do it. Besides, using it this way would not allow them to manipulate elections, which I think they always do. As for the health industry, proposals are being done and there are already a few projects specifically dedicated to this industry as is the case of VEchain.