Blockchain in Public Administration: GovTech and Use Cases

Blockchain in public administration: GovTech and real use cases

Overview

Will blockchain be a decisive technology for public administration? In this MERGE Madrid panel, Valencia City Council, Goove Studio, RSM, Santander and Alastria debate why blockchain's promise has not yet materialized in the public sector, which use cases make sense, and how initiatives such as the ISBE infrastructure can change the rules of the game.

What you'll learn

• The use-case challenge: why many pilots failed and how to design hyper-specific cases with real value
• Centralized vs. decentralized model: why the logic of public administration clashes with blockchain
• Administration 3.0: the OECD's vision and how it fits blockchain technology
• Tax use cases: Verifactu, the 15% global minimum tax, customs and traceability
• AI + blockchain synergies: agents, programmable stablecoins and model traceability
• ISBE and public-private collaboration: a Spanish blockchain services infrastructure

Session summary

The use-case problem: Goove Studio explains that blockchain is struggling in public administration because of the lack of well-defined use cases; many pilots were not replicable and were applied to problems where the switching cost did not justify the technology's value.

Why adoption is hard: RSM notes that, according to OECD data, only around 9% of tax administrations had adopted blockchain, far below the much higher use of APIs and artificial intelligence, partly because of a very centralized interaction model that clashes with the decentralized logic.

Barriers and cycles: Santander and Alastria point out that the technology has suffered from its correlation with crypto cycles and its closeness to speculation; the challenge is to present it as an enabling technology (notarization, registries, citizen management, sustainability) beyond Bitcoin.

The role of ISBE: the talk presents Spain's Blockchain Services Infrastructure (ISBE), connected to the European EBSI project, as a public-private collaboration aiming for a minimum viable product by year-end, with money and finance as the “driver” use case.

Tax and trade use cases: it cites Verifactu, immediate information reporting, the 15% global minimum tax that links administrations, customs and excise duties, and trade finance, where Spain could catch up with France or the UK.

AI + blockchain synergies: it explores payments to AI agents with programmable stablecoins, the traceability of models to limit hallucinations, and the potential of smart contracts to set limits on AI, citing the growth of the stablecoin market linked to AI.

Trust and the future: the panel agrees the bottleneck is not technological but one of knowledge, capacity, regulation and culture, and on starting with use cases of tangible value (virtual citizen services, payment of fees and taxes, healthcare interoperability with zero-knowledge) to build trust.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, with Valencia City Council, Goove Studio, RSM, Santander and Alastria on blockchain in public administration.

FAQs

Why is blockchain hard to adopt in public administration?
According to the panel, because of poorly defined use cases, a very centralized interaction model, and barriers of knowledge, regulation and public procurement, rather than technological limitations.

Which use cases make the most sense?
Virtual citizen services, invoicing and indirect taxes (Verifactu), the global minimum tax, traceability and foreign trade, and healthcare interoperability, according to the talk.

What is ISBE?
It is Spain's Blockchain Services Infrastructure, a public-private collaboration network connected to the European EBSI project to deploy multi-sector use cases.

Is this tax or investment advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes what was presented in the talk; it does not constitute tax, legal or investment advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation.