A new United Nations Development Programme report outlines how blockchain can support public systems. Public institutions are under pressure to modernize faster than their systems were built to handle. In its recent report, New Tech, New Partners: Transforming development in the digital era, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) outlines a model for using blockchains as part of a broader effort to modernize public systems. The publication showcases over 40 pilot projects around the world that apply blockchain technology to improve transparency, speed and accountability of public systems. This ranges from payment infrastructure and social safety nets to climate finance and community-level funding mechanisms, enabled by fundraising platforms, wallets and digital certificates. The UNDP uses a pipeline model, which creates purpose-built partnerships that bring governments, blockchain startups and local companies together to solve public sector problems. Institutions get an opportunity to test new tools...