It is nearly impossible to escape the talk of blockchain. Once a niche topic reserved for data scientists and technology enthusiasts, it is now familiar enough to be used in news headlines and a selling point for many new business enterprises. In 2021, blockchain start-ups received a total of $25 billion dollars in venture funding, a record eight-fold increase from the previous year and a strong vote of confidence for an emerging technology. Even with the precipitous decline of certain cryptocurrencies earlier this year, many are waiting to see how or if it will rebound and humble or reward investors and consumers.

Still, heated debates between fervent champions and harsh critics about its value as a ledger for digital assets have dominated public discourse, inadvertently reinforcing the assumption that blockchain’s most revolutionary contribution lies within the financial sector. But while cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens attempt to find their place in the global economy, blockchain is also poised to impact modern society in other ways, potentially changing how individuals, companies, governments, and international organizations handle and secure complex information ecosystems. A new approach to information management and exchange not only presents new opportunities for conducting business, but also affects global security in unexpected ways.

Read the full article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.