Blockchain: Perspective and challenges from international trade

Abstract

The blockchain is intended to keep a record of data that is a digital accounting book of transactions, agreements, contracts, or anything that needs to be independently registered and verified. The distributive nature of the blockchain database implies that it is more difficult for hackers to attack it: they would have to access each of the copies of the database simultaneously to succeed. However, the big question is whether this new technology can revolutionize trade worldwide. The objective of the study is to diagnose the situation of a nascent technology like this, the challenges it faces, and its use in international commercial transactions. Data from the WTO, the United Nations International Calculation Center (UNICC), IBM Institute for Business Value, and bibliographic material related to the subject are used. The work shows that blockchain technology has some unique advantages. There is still a long way to go for widespread adoption, but many industries are already addressing the main advantages and disadvantages of the blockchain.