World Economic Forum launches blockchain working group, with former Estonian president as head

The World Economic Forum has created a new blockchain working group, with Estonia’s former president set to co-lead it.

The Global Future Council for Blockchain Technology will meet for the first time later this week during an event in Dubai. According to the World Economic Forum, the focus of the group will be primarily on the development of “governance models” related to blockchain.

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Estonia’s fourth president for 10 years until he leaves office in October, will co-manage the task force with Jamie Smith, a former Obama administration official and current chief communications and marketing officer at bitcoin mining company BitFury.

Notable members of the working group include Ma Jun, chief economist of the People's Bank of China's research institute, and Claire Sunderland Hay, head of the Bank of England's fintech startup accelerator. Other members include representatives from Bitcoin and blockchain startups such as BitPesa, Everledger, Ripple and Chain, as well as financial institutions such as Barclays and Deutsche Bank. The full list of members is as follows:

Ilves said in a statement:

“The advantages of distributed ledger or blockchain systems in maintaining data integrity and security make them one of the most promising new technologies of the past decade. Their potential is only beginning to be realized, and the Council will play a leading role in exploring how blockchain can be used to make the internet more secure.”

The World Economic Forum has been conducting internal research on blockchain since the end of last year, and the new working group is just a branch of its Global Agenda Council, which focuses on climate change and other technological areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.