The Government has appointed its first official blockchain provider after start-up Credits was awarded a place on the G-Cloud 8 contractor framework.
The London-based firm, founded in 2014, has secure distributed ledger technology.
It is based upon the blockchain, a secure database of transactions which cannot be manipulated by one single entity.
Many believe the blockchain to be key to ensuring transparent governance. The Government has held trials and believes it can save the State billions of pounds by using it to prevent the overpayment of benefits.
鈥淲e are excited by the huge potential of distributed ledger technology for many different government and public sector applications,鈥� said Credits CEO Nick Williamson.
鈥淸We] are looking forward to working with UK public sector organisations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their services for UK taxpayers.”
Its tech could be used to manage areas such as health and education.
There are concerns relating to privacy with the rise of the Internet of Things.
The Government鈥檚 chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport has said of blockchain: 鈥淸It] has the potential to redefine the relationship between government and citizens in terms of data-sharing, transparency and trust.鈥�