The technology used by digital currencies has begun to spread across the global economy as a reliable way to store and verify data for other types of transaction. Indeed, it can be seen as a practical solution to many business and sustainability challenges, e.g. banking, energy, supply chain management, data accountability, and anti-counterfeit pharma, as well as facilitating international trade procedures.

For any pioneering technology to work globally, it needs to be built on strong foundations. There is also a need to understand environmental and other implications for blockchain to move beyond cryptocurrency and into the wider context. This is where standards can play a vital role, helping to ensure that blockchain interactions follow agreed ways of working to improve security, authenticity, traceability, privacy, scalability, sustainability and interoperability.

It is important that standards development organizations work together and share expertise to ensure the relevance and usability of the resulting standards.

The e-business Memorandum of Understanding Management Group between ISO, IEC, ITU and UNECE will host a webinar on blockchain to delve into questions such as:

• What are the success stories for blockchain standards in e-business so far, and what are their transferable lessons learned? 
• What are the barriers to wider adoption of blockchain technologies and how can standards mitigate them?
  (For example, blockchain-based e-business platforms, interoperability of information exchange across chains, a common semantic understanding of data in business processes implemented by smart contracts, the use of trustworthy digital ID for online transactions, environmental implications, understanding of how records management systems can utilise DLT and how DLT systems can support or enhance records management practices, fulfilment of burden of proof and long-term preservation in DLT especially in high regulated environments, PII and data privacy in DLT especially in Europe regarding GDPR.) 
• What future opportunities do we foresee for standardization in blockchain and e-business?
• Areas of usage of blockchain/DLT beyond cryptocurrencies and the financial industry.

Purpose

• Information sharing of activities across the four signatory organizations on blockchain related to e-business.
• Potential identification of new work opportunities and enhanced collaboration between the various groups.