Cryptocurrencies have certainly had their own problems with their wallets and exchanges — even ID-kaarts are not without their technical problems — but the distributed ledger technology holds firm for Estonia and for cryptocurrencies. Distributed ledger technology – or blockchain – has the potential to put control of personal data back in the hands of the public, rather than centralised corporations, which are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to Michael Mainelli, executive chairman of distributed ledger company Z/Yen Group. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, he cited the Estonian model of using blockchain to create ID-kaarts, a secure identity system that has proved popular with the population. The idea is not new.
Distributed ledger technology – or blockchain – has the potential to put control of personal data back in the hands of the public, rather than centralised corporations, which are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to Michael Mainelli, executive chairman of distributed ledger company Z/Yen Group. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, he cited the Estonian model of using blockchain to create ID-kaarts, a secure identity system that has proved popular with the population. The idea is not new.