How the United Nations Development Program is using blockchain for public infrastructure.
A new United Nations Development Program report outlines how blockchain can support public systems.
Government institutions are being pressured to update their systems faster than they were built to handle them. In its recent report, New Tech, New Partners: Transforming Development in the Digital Age, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) outlines a model for using blockchain as part of a broader effort to modernize public systems. The publication features more than 40 pilot projects that apply blockchain technology to improve the transparency, speed and accountability of public systems. This includes everything from payment infrastructure and social safety nets to climate finance and community-level funding mechanisms, through crowdfunding platforms, wallets and digital certificates.
UNDP uses a pipeline model that creates purpose-built partnerships that bring together governments, blockchain startups and local companies to solve public sector problems. Institutions get the chance to test new tools through small, problem-driven initiatives and unique use cases. These tools are implemented at the local level and designed to solve specific problems, such as ineffective payment lines for small entrepreneurs or regional ESG control.
In the framework, UNDP adopted blockchain as a trusted ledger for coordination and verification. The ability of blockchains to support shared ledgers, traceable transactions, and rule-based processes across multiple actors makes them a valuable tool for governmental systems. UNDP has made it clear that these benefits are conditional. Poor governance, poor privacy protection, and flawed technical design can create serious risks, such as flaws in smart contracts or illegal use of payment systems. The report draws a practical conclusion: Blockchain can be useful, but only when institutional safeguards are built in from the start and the technology is applied responsibly with strong oversight.
UNDP's core approach is a commitment to platform-agnostic ways of working, ensuring that no single vendor or protocol creates new dependencies, and that the digital infrastructure being built today is open, interoperable and truly serves people and public purposes.
The report shows how blockchain can be used to make public institutions more efficient and transparent: it contains examples from more than 40 countries on payments, financial access, identification systems and climate-related programs. Examples include crypto wallets for regular business payments, use of eco-credit tokens, and more. The cases show how digital tools can help institutions scale up services in developing countries where trust is limited and infrastructure is fragmented.
Browse the full UNDP report to see the complete framework, lessons and use cases.
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