How Blockchain Can Unlock the Ultimate Potential of Our Cities

Since their earliest manifestations, cities have been vital to our collective future. Cities are engines of commerce, thought, culture, and innovation. Even during the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, cities have demonstrated their persistence and pushed humanity forward with critical leadership on the pressing issues facing the world. We need cities more than ever, to solve the challenges of climate change, globalized trade, and political stagnation. The best way to ensure that cities are up to the task is to bolster self-governance efforts. Blockchain technology is an ideal and underutilized tool to accomplish this task.

The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, published a stimulating thought piece this month outlining how he believes blockchain technology and cryptocurrency can aid the development of cities and encourage better self-government. Blockchains enable innovative governance, Buterin argues, by securing information. This isn’t limited to the straightforward storing of residents’ data but can aid in more efficient tax collection, allocation of resources, and crisis management. Using the example of Harberger taxes and other zoning mechanisms, Buterin shows how blockchains can fundamentally transform how cities function. The more efficient and trustworthy a city handles the heavy lifting of capital management, the…