Blockchain: trust through standards

On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, AFNOR brought together blockchain professionals to put the spotlight on this technology that needs voluntary standards, such as the future NF B01-001. Market research shows that blockchain is spreading rapidly, in many sectors. Enough to boost economic recovery.

Finance, luxury goods, supply chain… blockchain is spreading throughout the economic fabric. This technology aimed at making online transactions totally secure, and serving as a trusted third party to record all information, even has its professionals, grouped together in a new federation: the FFPB (Fédération française des professionnels de la blockchain). On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, on the premises of AFNOR, the FFPB presented a survey of 125 user organizations, outlining the contours of the French blockchain ecosystem. “ More than half of the companies in the SBF 120 index have publicly stated that they are conducting blockchain projects ,” it proclaims. Nevertheless, most of the specialist players are very small businesses, located mainly in the Paris region. Large or small, a good proportion (41%) have raised funds to expand, for a total of 53 million euros.

Blockchain: for a Block in France” technology

While the level of expertise is high, particularly in the use of the Ethereum protocol (the most cited, ahead of Bitcoin and Hyperledger), the study illustrates the need to rapidly increase the number of training courses on offer, in view of short-term recruitment prospects. Nevertheless, ” the French ecosystem seems to have created fertile ground for the marketing of services and products based on blockchain technology “, reads the study. For example, using cryptocurrency payments.

But with the regret of not putting a blue-white-red spin on it: the study highlights a strong demand for a “Block in France” blockchain, developed by entities headquartered in France, with an architecture derived from national R&D. ” Blockchain is an opportunity for France to reclaim a digital sovereignty that has been severely eroded by previous missed technological turns,” says MP Jean-Michel Mis (LREM, Loire), co-founder of the FFPB with entrepreneur Rémy-André Ozcan, on this subject. A wish to be set alongside the post-Covid economic recovery plan.

This is where standardization has a role to play. Standards are beneficial in that they establish a framework, describe best practices and develop a common language. We’re talking here about voluntary standards, designed by and for professionals, and not the regulatory framework, described as inadequate by 58% of respondents to the FFPB survey. Standards work was therefore undertaken under the aegis of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO, TC 307 committee), leading to the publication of ISO 22739. It’s all about vocabulary, sharing the terms to be used in the world of blockchain, with their precise definition, so that we all understand each other.

Blockchain: voluntary standards to strengthen trust

The work continues today in a Franco-French context, with AFNOR hosting and leading a standardization committee made up of some fifteen professionals to finalize the future NF B01-001 standard. Publication horizon: July 2021, after public inquiry. “The aim of this standard is to propose a classification of the levels of veracity of information to be transcribed in a system using blockchain technology: “reasonable confidence”, “probative force”, etc. Let me give you an example: blockchain will transcribe the information that I have a billion dollars in my bank account in an unforgeable way. But what proof do you have that this information is authentic? The standard will provide confidence levels to attest to the sincerity of the source. Technology, no matter how secure, cannot prove that the data recorded actually reflects the reality it is supposed to reflect, both in its accuracy and its completeness. This standard is the trusted link between the physical world and the digital world secured by blockchain. ” Sylvain Cariou, President of Crystalchain and Chairman of the AFNOR standardization commission.

This commission brings together start-ups and entrepreneurs; it welcomes you if you want to contribute as a user, a professional in electronic archiving and document management, or a supplier of blockchain technology for financial or traceability applications. Tomorrow’s standards are being written today… and certainly not without you!

Find out more about the draft NF B01-001 standard…
Find out more about ISO blockchain standards…

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