Futures- Digital Ledger (aka the Blockchain)

The blockchain is a global database - an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions, but virtually everything of value and importance to humankind: birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, deeds and titles of ownership, educational degrees, financial accounts, medical procedures, insurance claims, votes, transactions between smart objects, and anything else that can be expressed in code. This ledger represents the truth because mass collaboration constantly reconciles it.

This technology platform is open and programmable, and it has the potential to unleash countless new applications. It also creates significant opportunities and challenges for the CIO. Like other big innovations, such as the PC, the web, mobility and the social web, blockchain experimentation often starts outside the IT function. Thoughtful CIOs should view this as positive because every business will become a blockchain business and every business leader needs to explore opportunities for transformation.

Question 1: What are some of the challenges for the CIO and the enterprise? If an enterprise wishes to adopt the blockchain, how should it go about it?

What steps should it take? What are some of the obstacles towards implementing the blockchain? Describe some of the regulatory issues. How can the blockchain support digital entrepreneurship?