Blockchain and Data Protection: A Compatible Couple?

Abstract

In recent years, blockchain, the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, has emerged as one of the technological innovations with the greatest potential to transform the economy and society. As various European institutions and data protection authorities point out, this type of technologies may, by its very nature, be unable to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We believe that, in order to understand the risks that the use of blockchain technology could pose, it is necessary to examine the architecture and the specific characteristics of the technology in question, in particular the way in which personal data are stored or processed. Thus, the impact of blockchain on the privacy and personal data of data subjects generally requires analysis on a case-by-case basis. We conclude that, while there are some tensions to be resolved, blockchain technology is not per se incompatible with the GDPR. blockchain, DLT, data protection, privacy, GDPR, cryptocurrency