Where Ethereum can contribute
Explore how Ethereum can support public services, coordination between organizations, and community decision-making. The use cases below outline possible approaches and the implementation choices they would involve.
Use cases for the public interest
Explore how institutions and communities could use Ethereum for a variety of purposes, such as overseeing public work, verifying information, and coordinating services. Adapted from research by the Ethereum Foundation Use Case Lab, these use cases describe possible approaches and their implementation considerations. They are starting points for exploration, not reports of completed projects.
Overseeing public procurement
Public procurement involves decisions and approvals across multiple organizations. An application using Ethereum could connect these steps in a shared record, allowing agencies, suppliers, and auditors to review how a contract was awarded and delivered without relying solely on one organization’s records.
Confirming eligibility while minimizing data collection
Confirming eligibility for a public service can require people to share personal information beyond the specific fact that needs to be checked (e.g. minimum age). An application using Ethereum could help verify that someone qualifies while limiting the information disclosed, supporting data minimization without changing the underlying eligibility rules.
Supporting participatory budgeting
Participatory budgeting allows residents to help decide how public or community funds are allocated. An application using Ethereum could connect proposals, voting results, allocations, and payment records in a shared record. This could help residents and public institutions verify how input was recorded and trace how selected projects were funded.
Tracing medicines through supply chains
Medicine supply chains involve manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and other organizations before products reach patients. An application using Ethereum could link a product identifier to a shared record of transfers along the supply chain. Health authorities and care providers could use that record to verify a medicine’s recorded origin and movement.
Coordinating construction permits
Construction permits often require review and approval from several agencies. An application using Ethereum could provide a shared record of submissions, inspections, and decisions. Applicants and agencies could use this record to track progress, see where a permit is awaiting action, and review the basis for decisions.
Tracking climate commitments
Governments and other institutions may make climate commitments while reporting progress through separate systems. An application using Ethereum could connect commitments, reported milestones, and assessments in a shared history, helping participating organizations and the public follow how those commitments develop over time.
Building blocks for digital infrastructure
Privacy, accountability, and cooperation depend on how digital services are designed. Explore the various mechanisms in Ethereum that can help institutions turn these principles into practical benefits for the people they serve.
| Public benefit | Institutional requirement | Ethereum mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination across institutions | Carry out actions when agreed-upon conditions are met, while reducing manual handoffs | Smart contracts Programs that run on Ethereum and can check submitted requests against conditions written into their code. When those conditions are met, they can automatically carry out specified actions. The results are recorded on Ethereum for participants to verify independently. View use case |
| Private verification | Confirm identity, eligibility, or compliance while collecting only the information needed | Zero-knowledge proofs A cryptographic method for proving that a statement is true without revealing the private information used to establish it. A program on Ethereum can verify the proof without receiving those personal details. View use case |
| Verifiable official records | Check who issued an official record and whether it has changed | Attestations Digitally signed statements that can be recorded on Ethereum together with a cryptographic hash of a document. A cryptographic hash is a short code derived from the document. Others can check which account signed the statement and whether the document has changed since its hash was recorded on Ethereum, without publishing the document itself. View use case |
| Confidential, auditable transactions | Allow authorized review without making transaction details public | Viewing keys Cryptographic keys that give designated parties read-only access to private transaction details, without allowing them to move the funds. |
| More private payments | Protect payment recipients’ privacy by limiting public visibility into their transaction history | Stealth addresses Create a new address for each payment, making it harder for outside observers to connect multiple payments to the same recipient. |