Blockchain --- Scott, true - blockchain is an underlying technology of not just cryptocurrencies but many other applications (like smart contracts, for instance). One interesting possible application of blockchain (which is essentially a distributed database of transactions of any sort, which can't be altered after the transaction is written down) in peacebuilding and mediation is - the exchange of prisoners (where sides don't believe each other to maintain the correct lists and exchanges).

Blockchain seems to not have 'embodied' to its full extent yet - apart from cryptocurrencies, we haven't seen many revolutionary uses yet; but there are promises that blockchain can also help tracking our ownership, and even our personal data (who and when had access to it, for instance).

Source author: Vladimir Radunovic vladar@diplomacy.edu