Presidio Principles: Foundational Values for a Decentralized Future

Preamble

Blockchain technology, a pillar of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, can not only unlock radical improvements across the public and private sectors, but also enable new business and governance models that help enhance security, accountability, and transparency for people worldwide. However, innovation that progresses without sufficient consideration for governance and user protection often leads to undesirable outcomes for individuals, companies and organizations, and society at large.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Blockchain Council drafted the following principles to help safeguard the promise of this technology. We hope that this document will provide creators of blockchain applications with a baseline for designing systems that preserve the rights of their participants.

We call on all actors, including developers, governments, executives, international organizations, corporate boards, and others, to uphold these tenets as they build blockchain applications – and to self-direct their ecosystems in using these principles as a foundational vision for how users can and should be protected.

We encourage participants and policymakers to leverage these principles as they seek to bring greater accountability to the systems that power our societies.

These principles are intended to serve as a steering document for the community. This document is not legally binding and is intended to be aspirational.

Show how you are implementing the Principles by using the hashtag #PresidioPrinciples. If you have additional ideas for the list, you can submit them to blockchain@weforum.org.

Here's a small sample of ideas for implementing the principles. More ideas available in the Signatory Resources.

Anyone

Product Developers & Service Providers

Civil Society & Think Tanks

For more information please contact blockchain@weforum.org