BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES AND DIGITAL TRADE: NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR GLOBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The article analyzes the potential of blockchain technology in the context of the global economy and digital trade.The authors explore how blockchain impacts various business processes, including financial operations, logistics, government administration, and environmental sustainability.Blockchain is becoming a key tool in financial transactions, ensuring transparency, security, and data immutability.These qualities help minimize fraud risks and provide reliable information protection.Due to its decentralized nature, blockchain can transform traditional supply chain management models, offering traceability at every stage and increasing trust in brands.This is particularly important in digital trade, where the involvement of numerous participants can complicate product tracking and quality control.An example of blockchain in supply chains is its implementation by Walmart for tracking food products.Blockchain significantly reduces the time required to verify the source of a product, ensuring a high level of transparency and safety at all stages of supply.Another example is the TradeLens platform, a joint project between Maersk and IBM, which uses blockchain to automate customs procedures and track containers worldwide.This technology helps reduce costs, avoid delays, and ensure the smooth flow of international trade.In government administration, blockchain is also widely applicable.It can increase the efficiency of government processes, ensure transparent elections, manage public registries, and allocate resources.Many countries are already experimenting with blockchain for elections, preventing fraud and ensuring secure voting.Additionally, the technology helps manage public registries, such as land ownership records, business licenses, or medical records, greatly improving data reliability and simplifying access to information.One of the key areas of blockchain development is decentralized finance (DeFi), which provides financial services without the involvement of traditional banks or financial institutions.DeFi opens up new opportunities for users, particularly in regions with weak banking infrastructure, contributing to financial inclusion.Decentralized finance offers a wide range of services such as lending, 6(6) 2024 226 insurance, and currency exchange, reducing the cost of financial operations and increasing service accessibility.Blockchain also holds great potential for optimizing supply chain management.For example, the VeChain platform specializes in tracking products in supply chains, ensuring transparency and control at every stage of production and delivery.This is particularly important for industries such as pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive, where product quality is critical.VeChain uses unique identifiers to record information about product origin, storage conditions, and transportation, ensuring trust in brands and minimizing the risk of counterfeits.Despite its advantages, blockchain technology faces challenges.One of the main issues is the low scalability of existing blockchain networks.Many popular platforms, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, struggle with processing large volumes of transactions, leading to delays and increased fees, particularly during peak times.To address this problem, developers are working on new consensus protocols like Proof-of-Stake, which are more energy-efficient and capable of handling larger transaction volumes.Another serious issue is legal uncertainty related to the lack of unified international blockchain regulations.Different countries have different approaches to regulating the technology, creating legal risks for companies implementing blockchain in their business processes.For instance, some countries prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies or impose strict restrictions on their use, creating additional difficulties for international companies.Overall, blockchain has significant potential to transform the global economy, but to fully unlock its potential, several challenges related to legal uncertainty, scalability, and network energy efficiency need to be addressed.