HBR Insights Future of Business Boxed Set (8 Books)

 

16

BLOCKCHAIN WILL HELP US PROVE OUR IDENTITIES IN A DIGITAL WORLD

by Michael Mainelli

“Who are you?” may well be the world’s most frequently asked question. On a website, in a nightclub, at an airport, or in front of a bank counter, everyone wants us to prove that we are who we say we are.

But 2.4 billion poor people worldwide, about 1.5 billion of whom are over the age of 14, can’t answer that question to the satisfaction of authorities. While they certainly know who they are, they are often excluded from property ownership, free movement, and social protection simply because they can’t prove their identity. They are more exposed to corruption and crime, including people trafficking and slavery. (Insightfully, the United Nations is aiming ...