Blockchains, Smart Contracts, und das Dezentrale Web

Blockchain is a new technology for the verification of data transactions. It is a type of distributed data storage and processing that enables many features of centrally organized information systems to be decentralized. The Blockchain can be used everywhere where information is to be stored and verified and where usually an intermediate agent is engaged. A Blockchain is a shared, trusted, public record of transactions, that everyone can inspect, but which no single user controls. It is an encrypted, secure, tamper resistant, distributed database. It solves a complex mathematical problem and allows us to build anything from simple Smart Contracts, to whole dApps (Decentralized Applications) or complex DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) on top of it. It is considered by many to be a game changer that allows us to decentralize trust, creating the basis for a peer-to-peer economy, powered by auto enforceable smart contracts. Transactions on the Blockchain through these smart contracts are in many cases faster and cheaper and more secure than transactions that classically run through neutral central authorities. Blockchain can be seen as one of the most important building blocks of the next generation Internet. If the WWW revolutionized information, and the Web2 introduced the programmable Web through Social Media and the Sharing Economy, Blockchain can be seen as the most important building block in the Web3, the decentral web, allowing for real P2P transactions without a middle man.This report explains Blockchain as a technology, analyses potential use cases, lines out relevant players in Berlin, and defines an action plan to strengthen the local ecosystem. The first part will give an introduction to Blockchain as a technology without going into too many technical details. The second part will showcase selected applications and discuss industry sectors where Blockchain could be relevant: Banking and Finance, Creative Industries, Sharing Economy, Energy Sector, eGovernment, Legal Tech, Health, and IT Consulting. The last part of this report will focus on Berlin as an Innovation Hub, analyzing the current ecosystem and players active in the field.