In a world where trust in traditional institutions is on the decline, blockchain and Web3 technologies can power ‘trustless’ systems that decentralise data and processes to rebuild trust. Blockchain-enabled systems have the potential to be an antidote to the diminishing faith in traditional systems such as government, media, and other civic and private institutions.
Decentralised ecosystems disintermediate trust and distribute it across participants of a network. With digital ledger technologies and decentralised business models that achieve consensus through code, cryptography, and technology protocols, stakeholders' trust can be rebuilt.
It can also help develop working models as trust no longer has to rely on a single individual or organisation. The risks of corruption, fraud, or errors that may arise from centralised control are minimised. Furthermore, decentralisation can empower participants and allow for more transparent and democratic decision-making processes.
Decentralised platforms and protocols are maturing and many organisations are using technology to demonstrate that collaboration across a network of participants can lead to more efficient and effective ways of working. By investing responsibly and exploring new use cases, they are proving that no individual or organisation can be as trustworthy as the collective whole. From enterprise applications/ platforms to blockchain-native business models, organisations are finding new ways to rebuild stakeholder trust.
Web3 proposes a future where a single, immutable version of the truth is based on public blockchains. In this new reality, forward-thinking digital natives are increasingly demanding higher-quality proof of truth. The leaders of tomorrow are likely to assert ‘chain or it didn't happen’. However, the digital trust gap is still a concern and surveys highlight the erosion of public disbelief in traditional, civic and public institutions.
“At a prior research company I founded, Meteor Now, we discovered that hatred is the most impactful emotion for driving lift in consumer engagement across media verticals,” says Nate Rackiewicz, Chief Data Officer at Gannett.
“We need to be mindful of this risk and on alert for bad actors that may be weaponizing this emotion against us in a quest for clicks.”
Blockchain can help eliminate system and process inefficiencies and increase participants' trust. The tokenization of assets in capital markets is one of the top enterprise blockchain use cases, with organisations already using blockchain-based transaction platforms.
Building digital trust is critical for businesses that want to maintain stakeholder confidence. Many organisations build credibility by going beyond traditional business objectives to include environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. Blockchain can help bridge another credibility gap by enabling ‘trustless’ systems that can rebuild stakeholders' trust.