OPPORTUNITIES AND BARRIERS FOR APPLICATIONOF DISTRIBUTED LEDGERS IN THE CONTEXT OF EU DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET STRATEGY

Abstract

Decentralization, on one hand, brings more transparency and trust to the parties involved in transactions,but on the other hand, it narrows possibilities for central control. Distributed Ledger Technology(DLT) is a recent decentralized innovation in the field of information and communication technology(ICT) that acts as self-sustainable ledger for documenting transactions self-protected against counterfeitingand hacker attacks. The aim of the current research paper is to reveal opportunities and barriersfor utilization of distributed ledgers in the context of EU digital single market strategy. The main tasksare (1) to analyze functionality dynamics of existing distributed ledgers, (2) to analyze utilization areasof distributed ledgers, (3) to analyze digital trends related to utilization of distributed ledgers within theEU. The current research paper utilizes methods of content analysis, grounded theory, descriptive statistics,correlation analysis and regression analysis. The research has revealed that half of EU DigitalSingle Market priorities can be facilitated through distributed ledgers.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.11.18134