Blockchain technology is one of the most discussed innovations in the digital transformation of business and society. With properties such as decentralized crypto exchanges, reliability and protection against forgery, it opens up a broad field of innovative application possibilities and new forms of cooperation. In the ten years after Substantial technological and economic development has taken place. Using blockchain technology, all imaginable values, rights and obligations to material and immaterial goods can be represented by tokens and their tradability and exchangeability potentially be simplified. What effects this development will have worldwide is still open. this applies in particular to their potential to trust in digital spaces. To clarify and develop the Federal Government is required to act to ensure the potential of blockchain technology and to prevent the possibility of abuse. Especially with a view to the climate protection and sustainability goals of the federal government.
It is necessary to carefully weigh up the potentials and risks. Therefore, the Federal Government hereby sets present a comprehensive blockchain strategy that takes into account the relevance of blockchain technology. This strategy sets the framework for innovations based on blockchain technology. Due to the dynamic development of the technology, a constant review of the framework conditions about their topicality is necessary.
The present strategy represents a holistic view of the federal government on blockchain technology, shows and sets out the goals and principles of the federal government in connection with blockchain technology concrete measures in five fields of action. A broad consultation process was an essential basis for developing the strategy among the representatives of Organizations that have issued opinions.
Token Economy
Blockchain technology was developed based on the vision of a decentralized distributed system that should replace central instances and enable transactions directly between the participants in the network.
The best-known – by far not the only – use case is the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. With the erratic Rise in the prices of cryptocurrencies and the new type of financing so-called Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), public interest in blockchain technology grew. At the same time, it grew with the trading of Bitcoin the associated power consumption is massive. Lately, use cases beyond cryptocurrency have come. In the present strategy, the term blockchain is used synonymously for distributed ledger technologies. The federal government understands IT systems managed decentrally under distributed ledger technologies, such as registers or account books, in which Values (for example currencies or information) can be exchanged directly between the participants. The verification takes place mostly through system-wide decentralized processes (consensus protocols) and not through a central instance. The systems enable all participants to have access to the status and verifiable history of the transactions carried out, provided with a time stamp.