Introduction

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) undertook a research project in fiscal year 2018 to understand how blockchain works, to learn how it is being used in the Federal government, and to discuss the potential implications for records management. This white paper represents NARA’s findings as of July 2018. Research consisted of attending various interest group meetings, webinars, symposiums, and discussions with external experts. The research team also performed a technical review and analysis of articles surrounding   blockchain. This paper contains a selected bibliography of these articles as a resource. This paper also contains various terms in bold italics, which are defined in a glossary. This white paper is intended to help federal records managers to better understand blockchain technology and to consider the records management implications at their own agencies. On the whole, NARA’s current guidance issued for federal records management applies to records created by blockchain technology. NARA will continue to monitor how blockchain use evolves in government and will determine if any future guidance is needed to address specific aspects or implications for blockchain records.

Blockchain Overview

 Conceptual Description

Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is a database that is consensually shared, replicated, and synchronized. To better understand the technical aspects of a blockchain, it is helpful to explain the concept through an example. When an  individual deposits a sum of money into a banking institution, the individual trusts that the sum will be there until they decide to exchange it for goods or services. The individual trusts the bank will have an accurate record of the transaction, such as the amount, depositor, date, and time of the deposit. More broadly, society relies on central repositories, such as banks or governments, to collect, maintain, and protect the recorded actions of individuals or institutions. Blockchain differs from centralized repositories in that it decentralizes the source of trust. An individual deposits funds into a digital wallet and the value is captured on the blockchain. If this individual purchases a digital song, the transaction is captured in the blockchain along with the change in fund level in the digital account. The bank is not required as a trusted third party. The trustworthy record is recorded in the blockchain shared by all the parties on the network. (Read More)