UK explores blockchain for tracking tax payments

Rage Comment : According to Reuters, the British government intends to use blockchain technology to track tax payments, because the British IT system loopholes have caused the government to suffer heavy losses. Many people hope to use rigorous and secure blockchain technology to ensure the normal operation of important national departments. They do not want the UK to avoid emerging technologies. After all, blockchain technology is just starting now, and all countries hope to seize the opportunity to become industry leaders.

Translation: Annie_Xu

The UK government is exploring the use of bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology to allocate taxpayers’ money more efficiently, a minister has said.

Blockchain is a decentralized ledger shared and verified by a network of computers that can be used to record data and verify and secure asset transactions.

Banks and other financial institutions believe that blockchain can reduce costs and increase the transparency and speed of business operations; therefore, they have begun to invest in blockchain technology.

Matt Hancock

British Cabinet Minister Matt Hancock said the government is studying ways to use blockchain technology to manage and track public funds, such as student loans and grants, and believes that blockchain can "foster a new culture of trust."

"The government cannot escape reality and ignore emerging technologies."

"The government has treated the Internet like this in the past, and we can't just stand by and watch it happen again."

The UK government's IT systems have had vulnerabilities in the past, affecting passport agencies, tax credit systems and, most importantly, the National Health Service (NHS) in 2011, which was forced to abandon a multi-billion-pound project to computerize medical records.

At the same time, Hancock warned against falling into the trap of blockchain hype.

"Blockchain cannot solve all problems and is not suitable for all application scenarios."

Blockchain is still in its infancy: Bitcoin's blockchain technology was only developed seven years ago, and most financiers and technology experts believe it will take another five to ten years for the technology to be widely used. Many people compare the current level of development to the early days of the Internet.

Earlier this year, the government's chief scientific adviser urged the government to explore ways to use blockchain; the Bank of England called blockchain a "key technological innovation" and set up a special research group to explore the application of blockchain in areas such as currency issuance.