Over the last few months, there has been a lot of discussion about Blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize and transform the sharing or gig economy. If you’re like me, your first question might be, “What the heck is Blockchain?”

Need a crash course? Back in March, my colleague Adam Bridgers wrote a fantastic introduction to Blockchain technology and its potential impact on employment and workplaces.  It makes for compelling reading, and is a great introduction to this topic for the uninitiated. As Adam explained:

“In a nutshell, Blockchain technology allows people to exchange things of value with one another without the trusted middlemen we normally rely on to authenticate transactions, such as governments, banks, or even ride-sharing platforms. It allows us to authenticate and exchange assets, like virtual currency, intellectual property, titles, credentials, resumes, contracts, and personal data, on a decentralized virtual ledger.  

Blockchain is a decentralized database that stores a ledger of assets and transactions across a peer-to-peer network, and uses its network to authenticate transactions. Authentic transactions are then cryptographically secured and stored in blocks of data, which in turn are cryptographically linked and secured. This allows Blockchain transactions to be verified, monitored, and enforced without the presence of a trusted third-party or institution.”

This new technology clearly has some potentially monumental implications for the sharing economy. My colleague Rich Meneghello discussed a number of these issues in an April blog post on how Blockchain might impact the sharing economy specifically.

Both of these pieces make for a great introduction to this topic, and are well worth your time.

One of the more fascinating issues to pop up is the potential for Blockchain technology to revolutionize the resolution of disputes between sharing economy platforms, customers, and workers. 

One appeal of Blockchain is that it could give workers even more freedom than they currently enjoy by allowing workers to operate directly with customers, without a trusted third-party intermediary. As Rich Meneghello discus