How global fragmentation is holding back blockchain’s progress

How global fragmentation is holding back blockchain’s progress

Gaps in technical standards and regulation hold blockchain back.

Analysis from the World Economic Forum and the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) found four key insights to guide blockchain regulation.

They include the challenges of gragmentation and varying definitions.



2020 has been a big year for blockchain. We saw US$4.3 billion in blockchain spending. Bitcoin rallied steadily, seeing all-time highs. Major institutions, including PayPal, Square, and Visa made high-stakes announcements around crypto. Ethereum 2.0's Beacon Chain launched earlier this month.

But a major industry problem remains: the lack of harmonization in technical standards and regulation threatens broad-based adoption and progress.

With the excitement around the technology, there is inevitably a flurry of activity from all sides, including technical standards-setting entities, regulators and policymakers, and industry consortia. However, little work to date has been done to understand the landscape of blockchain and digital asset regulations and standards.

Who are the major players? Where are there gaps and overlaps? What has been standardized and regulated “” and where is this activity unwanted or premature?

Understanding the answers to these questions “” and the picture they paint when considered holistically “” is critical in outlining a path towards universally accepted standards, which will allow