The Handbook of Board Governance, 2nd Edition

21Blockchain: An Introduction for Boards of Directors

Dr. Elizabeth Valentine

Chief Information Officer of Massey University, New Zealand, and Adjunct Research Fellow and Teaching Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Dr. Greg Timbrell

Part-Time Director of Teaching and Learning in the Information Systems School at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Dean of Studies of the Education Cluster of Anvia Holdings Corporation

Lachlan Feeney

CEO of Labrys and Faculty, Information Systems at Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Dr. John Puttick

Founder of GBST Holdings Ltd.

Introduction

Business contracts have evolved over hundreds of years and are still evolving today. Since the virtual currency Bitcoin arrived in 2009, blockchain has emerged as a new, Internet-based way of recording entitlements and enforcing rights within contractual relationships. In essence, blockchain is a self-contained, software-only, digital ledger system used to securely facilitate, process, and record transactions and facilitate contracts.

With any new technology, there are opportunities and there are risks. Many expectations and predictions involving blockchain are derived from the premise of disintermediation. In many ways this term sums up what is possible through blockchain and its potential impact on a wide range of industries.

Envisage currency without the need of a government—cryptocurrency; or the stock exchange minus the exchange authority—block exchange; personal, ...