The BlockChain is an automatic and immutable audit trail. It is the technology behind Bitcoin. But has far wider implications.

Blockchain provides the safeguards to ensure who owns or does what by creating an audit trail of all transactions. The key is that information in the blockchain is encrypted, held by all users and is identical for every user. This ensures the integrity of the system as a whole and is almost tamperproof.

Think of the blockchain as an enabling technology. The internet allows us to communicate, blockchain allows us to co-ordinate agreements via the internet whatever they may be, without any middle-man or central organisation.

The importance becomes clear once this system is considered in a wider context. Currently, we need central bodies such as banks, solicitors, legal entities, local authorities, membership organisations et al, to hold the information and audit trails of many processes. With blockchain, many of these audit processes and central organisations could be replaced with an automatic system that everyone owns equally between them.

CST sees many applications for this simple but empowering technology. It is perfect for crowdsourcing processes and leveraging the move away from large organisations, banks and badly run governmental systems to smaller, inclusive, decentralised organisations.

Lets explore some ideas:-

• Crowdsource time credits - imagine a new system for determining who has provided a service based on time. This could be a world-wide system where individuals (or groups, see new model organisation) could agree to take part voluntarily, provide a service and gain a credit. This credit may then be used to 'buy' another service that they require.

• Crowdsourced lending and borrowing - Blockchain used as the basis for recording who owns what to whom.

• New building societies - this could form the basis of all transactions, creating an effective and decentralised UK wide process for lenders, borrowers, land owners, planners and local builders

• Shared ownership of resources, such as car sharing, property sharing, tool sharing.

• Voting systems

• Legal systems

• Personal information (medical, wills, paswords, encryption keys, etc)

As the blockchain is simply an encrypted data recording process, any type of information can be recorded and kept safe. There is likely to be many new ways of decentralising using blockchain.

One proposal provides food for thought - Self driving cars are soon to be on our streets. Logically, these vehicles could own themselves - using blockchain for all their transactions, the car could buy itself back from the initial owner, pay for its own fuel and servicing, and to all intents and purposes it would seem to have a separate legal existence. The robots could follow suit.

The BlockChain

On the back of modern communications, the BlockChain provides massive opportunities for crowdsourced processes. It may help change the way the world is organised.