UNDP launches Blockchain Advisory Group for financial inclusion
Blockchain is increasingly recognised for its potential to improve transparency, efficiency, and trust in digital and financial systems.
The UN Development Programme has launched a Blockchain Advisory Group to examine how blockchain technologies can support public systems, digital public infrastructure, and development outcomes.
The group was launched in Paris on 3 June during Proof of Talk 2026, bringing together senior leaders from across the blockchain ecosystem. UNDP Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu chairs it.
The group’s first deep dive theme is financial inclusion and digital finance. Discussions focused on barriers, including fragmented payment systems, limited access to digital identity, interoperability challenges, and institutional readiness.
UNDP said blockchain technologies may complement existing infrastructure by expanding access, improving efficiency, and strengthening transparency. The organisation said the advisory group is intended to create space for practical collaboration and strategic exchange among development actors and participants in the blockchain ecosystem.
The initiative builds on UNDP’s broader work on blockchain for sustainable development, digital public infrastructure, and public systems. Across regions, UNDP is exploring applications in digital payments, financial inclusion, climate finance, digital identity, traceability, public procurement, and public service delivery.
Alongside the launch, UNDP’s AltFinLab organised events under the banner Scaling Blockchain for Public Good, including a showcase of blockchain and decentralised AI solutions moving towards implementation in development contexts.
The Blockchain Advisory Group will meet twice a year, with future discussions covering public trust and digital governance, legal identity, financial inclusion, sustainability, climate, traceability, digital labour, and the future of work. The group currently includes 26 member organisations from the blockchain ecosystem.
Why does it matter?
The advisory group shows that blockchain is still being explored within global development policy, but with a more practical focus on public systems and implementation. For UNDP, the key question is not blockchain adoption for its own sake, but where the technology can add public value in areas such as financial inclusion, digital identity, climate finance, traceability, procurement, and service delivery.
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