The Blockchain World Cup

In the updated version of Blockchain Revolution, we bring up what we believe to be the criteria necessary to become a thriving hotbed of blockchain innovation. We also list a few countries we believe to be leading in the blockchain world, pushing innovation forward both in the public and private sectors, from Estonia to Dubai.

In the spirit of this, and the World Cup, we developed our ranking for the Top Ten contenders for the next “Silicon Valley” of blockchain.

We gave each contender a ranking from 1-10 in each criteria, and weighed each criteria from 1-5. Using this, we were able to come up with a total score out of 320.

We would love to hear what changes you would make, what cities or regions you believe should be contenders, or any ways you might change our criteria. Let us know on social media, or by emailing info@tapscott.com

Government support/funding – 3

• Has the government dedicated significant funding to blockchain innovation, either through research grants, incubators/accelerators, and programs like Canada’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative or Switzerland’s blockchain task force?
• Has the government begun to develop or incorporate blockchain applications into their own operations (trade, identity, fraud reduction, etc.)?

Size of regional market – 1

• What is the population and GDP of the regional market?
• Is there a notable interest in cryptocurrencies in the market, as in Korea?

Regulatory clarity/openness – 5

• Has the government banned ICOs and/or exchanges?
• Have regulators developed policies which distinguish between various tokens?
• Have securities regulators opened up “sandbox” platforms?
• Has the government provided clear guidelines for taxation, audit and accounting of cryptocurrencies?

Ecosystem – 5

• Is there an active network of innovators, researchers, investors, developers and users?
• Is the region home to leading blockchain companies or organizations (Consensys, Ripple, R3, etc.)?

Banking landscape/openness – 3

• Is the region a global banking hub?
• What is the size of the banking sector there, and have those banks aggressively pursued blockchain applications?

Thought leadership – 3

• Does there exist a knowledge network of individuals pushing research and blockchain applications forward?
• Have any post-secondary institutions in the region begun to offer blockchain-specific research and educational programs?

Private funding – 5

• What is the network of venture capital available?
• How integrated is that network with the start-up ecosystem?

Communities of talent (education and immigration systems) – 4

• Where does its immigration system place in the Centre for Global Development’s rankings?
• Where does it place in OECD data on PSE attainment by country?
• Is the region home to leading universities in tech and computer sciences?

Corporate leadership – 3

• Is the region home to a large enterprise ecosystem?
• Is that ecosystem actively embracing and piloting blockchain applications?

2017