1、Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade?By Emmanuelle Ganne World Trade Organization 2018Reproduction of the material contained in this publication may be made only with the written permission of the WTO Publications Manager.Print ISBN 978-92-870-4760-1Web ISBN 978-92-870-4761-8WTO Publicat
2、ions World Trade Organization 154, rue de Lausanne CH-1211 Geneva 2 SwitzerlandTel: +41 (0)22 739 51 11www.wto.orgEmail: publicationswto.orgWTO Online Bookshop http:/onlinebookshop.wto.orgReport designed by Services Concept. Printed by the World Trade Organization.Photo credits:Cover image: Getty/Ph
3、otographer is my life. Images page 79: Provenance.Published by the World Trade Organization.DisclaimerThe opinions expressed in this study are those of the author. They are not intended to represent the positions or opinions of the WTO or its members and are without prejudice to members rights and o
4、bligations under the WTO. Any errors are attributable to the author.Table of contentsAcknowledgements vExecutive summary vii1. Introduction 12. Blockchain in a nutshell 31. A brief history 32. Blockchain 101 53. Types of blockchains 84. Smart contracts A smart invention with no smart component 135.
5、Multiple applications but not a solution to everything 143. Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade? 171. Towards paperless trade? 172. A new generation of services? 463. Strengthening intellectual property rights 574. Enhancing government procurement processes 674. A world of opportunities
6、. and challenges 771. Multifaceted opportunities 772. Success is not a given 905. Conclusion 111Annex Blockchain for tech fans 113Glossary 120Bibliography 128Abbreviations 142List of figures and tables 144iiiAcknowledgementsMy sincere thanks go to my colleague Ms Kenza Le Mentec for her precious gui
7、dance. Kenza introduced me to the subject and provided invaluable inputs, in particular for the technical sections describing the technology and the section on trade facilitation. This publication would not have been possible without her support.I am also most grateful to Mr Shashank Rai, Senior Str
8、ategic Technology Specialist at UNICC, for his technical insights, advice and guidance, and for having taken the time to exchange views and review the report. His technical inputs were extremely valuable.My thanks also go to the various experts from Accenture, the Danish Customs, Deloitte, the Dutch
9、 Customs, Everledger, IBM, Maersk, VCargoCloud and We.trade, who took the time to talk to me and share their insights on Blockchain and the various projects on which they have been working.In addition, I wish to thank Enrico Camerinelli, Senior Analyst at Aite Group, Shantanu Godbole of IBM Research
10、, Philippe Heeren, Lawyer at Deloitte Legal, Jonathan Koh, Managing Director at Trade Facilitation Pte Ltd, Lance Thompson, Secretary, UN/CEFACT UNECE, as well as the Hyperledger team, in particular Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of the Hyperledger project, Ry Jones, Community Architect, and M
11、arta Piekarska, Director of Ecosystem, for their technical comments.My thanks also to WTO colleagues who provided comments: Rob Anderson, Marc Auboin, Robert Koopman, Juan Marchetti, Nora Neufeld, Simon Padilla, Roberta Piermartini, Melvin Spreij, Jayashree Watal and Christiane Wolff.vExecutive summ
12、aryBlockchain is much more than Bitcoin.Blockchains first implementation as the technology underpinning Bitcoin has led many to associate Blockchain with Bitcoin. However, the potential use of Blockchain goes well beyond the world of cryptocurrencies. For some, it is a technology that will change ou
13、r lives, while for others it is a pipe dream; no technology has stirred up so much debate since the advent of the internet. However, despite the numerous headlines on Blockchain, the technology remains difficult to apprehend for many.Blockchain: a tamper-proof, decentralized and distributed digital
14、record of transactions that creates trust and is said to be highly resilient.A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed record or “ledger” of transactions in which the transactions are stored in a permanent and near inalterable way using cryptographic*1 techniques. Unlike traditional databases, wh
15、ich are administered by a central entity, blockchains rely on a peer-to-peer network that no single party can control. Authentication of transactions is achieved through cryptographic means and a mathematical “consensus protocol”* that determines the rules by which the ledger is updated, which allow
16、s participants with no particular trust in each other to collaborate without having to rely on a single trusted third party. Thus, Blockchain is, as The Economist calls it, a “trust machine”. Participants in a blockchain can access and check the ledger at any time.Blockchain therefore ensures immedi
17、ate, across-the-board transparency, and as transactions added to the blockchain are time-stamped* and cannot easily be tampered with, blockchain technology allows products and transactions to be traced easily. Smart contracts* i.e. computer programmes that self-execute when certain conditions are me
18、t can be used to automate processes, further reducing costs. Because of their decentralized and distributed nature and the use of cryptographic techniques, blockchains are said to be highly resilient to cyber-attacks compared to traditional databases although there is no such thing as perfect resili
19、ence.viiviii CAN BLOCKCHAIN REVOLUTIONIZE INTERNATIONAL TRADE?Blockchains can be public, private or managed by a consortium of companies, and they can be accessible by everyone (permissionless) or restricted (permissioned).There are various ways to categorize blockchains. Blockchains are often class
20、ified as public (no specific entity manages the platform), private (the platform is controlled by a single entity), or managed by a consortium of companies. Another commonly used classification is permissionless (the blockchain is open to everyone the most well-known example being the Bitcoin platfo
21、rm) or permissioned (restrictions can be imposed on who can read and/or write on the blockchain). There are, in practice, many variants of blockchains depending on the objectives being sought. Many applications in the field of international trade fall into the category of permissioned/ consortium bl
22、ockchains. While, strictly speaking, Blockchain is only one type of distributed ledger technology (DLT), the term is now commonly used to refer to distributed ledger technologies in general.Blockchains potential trade-related applications are numerous and could significantly transform international
23、trade but the technology is not a solution to everything.From finance, including trade finance, to customs and certification processes, transportation and logistics, insurance, distribution, intellectual property (IP) and government procurement, possible applications of Blockchain encompass a divers
24、e set of areas related to WTO work. While the technology opens interesting opportunities to enhance the efficiency of a number of processes and cut costs in these areas, it is not a panacea. Carefully weighing the costs and benefits is essential.Blockchain could open new opportunities to enhance the
25、 efficiency of processes in a number of areas related to WTO work.Blockchain could help trade move closer to becoming paperless.From trade finance to customs clearance, transportation and logistics, trade in goods involves multiple actors and remains paper-intensive. Blockchain is seen by many as an
26、 interesting tool to improve the efficiency of trade processes and help move towards paperless trade. However, the challenges to overcome are equivalent to the opportunities offered by the technology.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ixBlockchain is seen as a possible game-changer to digitalize and automate trade f
27、inance processes, in particular letters of credit, and to ease supply chain finance. An array of banks working with financial technology (fintech) startups and information technology (IT) companies are investigating the potential of the technology. Pilot projects are encouraging, but a number of tec
28、hnical and regulatory issues need to be addressed before the technology can be used on a wide scale.The intrinsic characteristics of the technology also make it a potentially interesting tool to help implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and to facilitate business-to-government (B2G)
29、and government-to-government (G2G) processes at the national level. Blockchain and smart contracts could help administer border procedures and national single windows (a single point of entry through which trade stakeholders can submit documentation and other information to complete customs procedur
30、es) in a more efficient, transparent and secure manner, and improve the accuracy of trade data. The real challenge will be to make cross-border G2G processes more efficient. This will not only require settling interoperability issues at a technical level an issue on which the Blockchain community is
31、 working actively it will also require standardization and political will to create a regulatory framework that is conducive to paperless trade.Finally, the technology will only be able to work to its full potential if all aspects of cross-border trade transactions are digitalized, from trade financ
32、e to customs, transportation and logistics, and if the semantics are aligned (i.e. what specific information is communicated by the data elements). The transportation and logistics sector, which constitutes a fertile ground for blockchain implementation due to the large number of actors involved, is
33、 actively looking into ways to leverage the technology in order to develop trade platforms that could connect all actors along the supply chain, including banks and customs authorities.If the projects that are under development succeed, Blockchain could well become the future of trade infrastructure
34、 and the biggest disruptor to the shipping industry and to international trade since the invention of the container. However, much remains to be done. Such projects require complex integration work and a conducive regulatory environment. They also raise issues of interoperability and standardization
35、. A dialogue between all stakeholders, including regulators, is essential.Blockchain could give rise to a new generation of services.Beyond Blockchains pilot projects related to trade finance, an increasing number of startups are developing products and blockchain applications to provide for quicker
36、,x CAN BLOCKCHAIN REVOLUTIONIZE INTERNATIONAL TRADE?easier and cheaper cross-border payments, putting pressure on well-established financial institutions to rethink the way they have been doing business.However, a complete overhaul of the financial landscape is unlikely. Ironically, the technology c
37、ould serve to strengthen those financial institutions that “Satoshi Nakamoto”, the pseudonymous founder or founders of Blockchain, wanted to make superfluous.Another area that could be significantly impacted by the use of blockchain technology is insurance. The automation of processes through the us
38、e of smart contracts could help reduce administrative procedures and costs, handle claims, and administer multinational insurance contracts. Of particular interest for international trade are pilot projects being tested in the maritime insurance sector.Blockchain is also just starting to enter the e
39、-commerce world. While the technology may not revolutionize e-commerce per se, it could give it a further boost and impact existing business models.If the initiatives underway prove conclusive, and technical and legal issues are solved, Blockchain could become the future “infrastructure” of the serv
40、ices industry. Because of its automation capabilities, thanks to the use of smart contracts, Blockchain could be to the services sector what robots have been to manufacturing. A significant shake-up of relationships within a sector is, however, unlikely. Blockchains main impact will most likely be f
41、elt in terms of cost reductions.Blockchain could help administer intellectual property (IP) rights in a more efficient and transparent way, and help fight counterfeits.A rapidly growing ecosystem of companies is looking at how blockchain technology can be used to improve the administration and enfor
42、cement of IP rights across multiple jurisdictions. Blockchain applications in the IP field are numerous and could impact both the governance of IP rights and the IP industry itself. Blockchain for registered and unregistered rights could arguably be used to provide proof of creation, existence, owne
43、rship and/or first use, to register IP rights, to facilitate the administration and management of IP rights on a global scale, thereby potentially contributing to the emergence of “global IP chains”, and to enforce IP rights and fight counterfeits in a more efficient way.While applications of blockchain technology could help to alleviate some of the challenges that rights-holders face, the technology will not solve all issues. But one thing is certain: the disruptive nature of the technology, the multiplicity of potential
