Government Efficiency Can Be Vastly Improved by Crypto and Blockchain: Coinbase

Government efficiency can be modernized and improved by the use of crypto and blockchain technology. That’s the thrust of a new Coinbase blog post looking at ways to make governments more effective while reducing waste.

Coming as the Department of Government Efficiency runs through agencies chasing down waste, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are ripe for expansion into federal, state and municipal government systems, according to the post.

Public records management is one of the “most promising” areas in which blockchain can change government for the better, streamlining transactions and keeping records on a transparent but secure and immutable blockchain.

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, has put 42 million vehicle titles on a blockchain, cutting the time required for title transfers from weeks to minutes, it said. Colorado uses it for a cattle brand registry.

“By incorporating blockchain into government data frameworks, agencies can avoid the silos that often hinder efficient sharing of information and better allow for information-sharing at various levels of government,” Coinbase said. “For example, a blockchain-based property registry could enable seamless collaboration between city, county, and state tax authorities, improving efficiency in tax collection and urban planning.”

Payments and Data Sharing

A decentralized identification system would be a single site that all government agencies could access, allowing them only to see the private information necessary while reducing the burden of record sharing.

Onchain voting has long been a target of blockchain entrepreneurs who envision a transparent and tamper-proof method of collecting and tallying ballots without fear of fraud or miscounts.

In much the same manner, the use of crypto and blockchain could be used to ease the difficulty of disbursing government benefits like Social Security, unemployment insurance and disaster relief while dramatically reducing the potential for fraud.

Keeping medical records on a blockchain can improve record management and care coordination, while giving patients and caregivers secure access to their data without oversharing. In Poland, a data donation initiative uses blockchain to allow patients to consent to the use of their medical data for research and development.

Tokenization and Strategic Reserves

Just as some financial institutions are starting to experiment with issuing financial products onchain, governments can modernize capital issuance, increasing transparency and enabling broader participation from retail and institutional investors.

Hong Kong has already issued tokenized green bonds, and global financial institutions like the European Investment Bank are doing the same, “providing a blueprint for U.S. adoption,” Coinbase said.

And, of course, the U.S. government is in the process of creating a strategic cryptocurrency reserve made up of seized assets “​​as a source of diversification and recognition of the increasingly strategic and central role assets like Bitcoin are playing in our evolving financial landscape,” Coinbase added.