The Blockchain–sustainability Nexus: Can This New Technology Enhance Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability?

Abstract

With the rise and fall of the prominence of Bitcoin, blockchain technology,which provides public online ledgers used for the verification and recording oftransactions, has started to become the center of attention for diverse parties in theglobal financial system. This chapter explores the nature of blockchain and discusseshow it may contribute to, or obstruct, sustainability. To this end, first, blockchaintechnology is introduced. Next, a short discussion on sustainability is presented,including how it is defined, measured, reported, and understood in theoreticalframeworks. After that, the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goalsare briefly explained. This is followed by a systematic literature review, whichhighlights the scarcity of literature linking blockchain to sustainability. Finally, theauthor offers her own reflections on the potential of blockchain to revolutionize thefinancial services industry and weighs up the pros and cons vis-a-vis sustainable development.