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Blockchain
Blockchain and records and records
management: disruptive force or management

new approach?
Sharmila Bhatia, E. Kyle Douglas and Markus Most 277
Office of the Chief Records Officer,
US National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, USA Received 23 August 2019
Revised 16 December 2019
28 January 2020
Accepted 4 February 2020

Abstract
Purpose – Archival repositories rely on the authenticity of records. The potential manipulation of
records and information present a unique challenge to archival repositories and their mission to collect,
maintain and provide access to the authentic records. The purpose of this paper is to outline the technical
aspects of blockchain and describe potential records management and archival implications of the
technology. The implications to consider include data management, records existing on a blockchain and
records disposition.
Design/methodology/approach – The approach included reviews of technical literature and attendance
at blockchain conferences, workshops and seminars. The literature review focused on general studies,
technical publications, use cases and nascent applications for managing records created and stored on a
blockchain. The approach is intended to answer the questions: what basic information do records managers
need to understand blockchain? How will blockchain technology impact records management? Does
blockchain shift toward decentralized records management?
Findings – Implemented properly, blockchain technology can immutably record transactions and
provide independent verification and authentication of digital records. Given the ease with which
electronic records can sometimes be manipulated, the promise of certainty and third-party verification has
drawn sizeable interest and investment. This paper shows records exist on blockchains and must be
managed appropriately. The distributed structure inherent in blockchains is a shift from centralized
records management and will challenge the approach and assumptions of the profession. Records
managers must determine recordkeeping requirements before developing a business application using
blockchain and the fixed nature of blockchains means that these considerations must be included at the
outset.
Originality/value – This proposed paper began as a blockchain white paper produced by the US
National Archives for the federal records management community. It has been re-focused as a general
review paper for the Records Management Journal to explain blockchain and show how it may be used to
address broader records and information management concerns such as authenticity, veracity, and
trustworthiness.
Keywords Blockchain, Archives, Records management
Paper type General review

Introduction
This article is a high level review of blockchain as an evolving technology for records
managers, archivists and librarians so that they may consider the records management
implications at their own organizations. These implications include data management,
records existing on a blockchain, and records disposition.
Records Management Journal
Vol. 30 No. 3, 2020
pp. 277-286
The authors thank Victoria Lemieux and Cassie Findlay for providing insight and resources for our © Emerald Publishing Limited
0956-5698
research and development of the blockchain white paper. DOI 10.1108/RMJ-08-2019-0040
RMJ Conceptual and technical blockchain description
30,3 Conceptual
Professions often develop specialized language and terms that do not translate well between
knowledge areas. This gap makes it difficult to describe blockchain in non-technical terms.
To better understand the technical aspects of blockchain it is helpful to explain the concept
through a story. For example, an individual deposits funds into a digital wallet and the
278 value is captured on the blockchain. If this individual purchases a digital song, the
transaction is captured in the blockchain along with the change in fund level in the digital
account. The trustworthy record is recorded in the blockchain and shared by all the parties
on the network. Blockchain differs from centralized repositories, such as banks, because it
decentralizes the source of trust. While it is possible to bypass a centralized repository,
banks are now considering how to leverage blockchain. A recent article in Forbes, “Forget
Cryptocurrencies, How Can Financial Institutions Make Use of Blockchain,” quotes Nikita
Lomakin, chief executive officer and founder of Kviku:
Digital tokens could be considered as collateral for consumer issued loans soon.

For example, when a borrower applies for a loan, a smart contract is created with the loan
amount, interest rate, and maturity date. The borrower then puts up tokens as collateral. If the
loan isn’t paid on time, the lender receives tokens as collateral. This would allow to reduce credit
risks for lenders and bring the overall interest rate down for borrowers (Pollock, 2019).

Technical
The blockchain network or distributed ledger replicates and stores transactional data
created by each party or node. Conflicts or inaccuracies within the database are
automatically resolved with predefined ledger rules. The fundamental characteristics of the
distributed ledger include:
 Operation with peer-to-peer networks;
 Decentralized transaction record keeping;
 Consensus or trust-based transactions; and
 Tamper resistance.

Blockchains, while similar to databases, are not used for general data storage, but rather to
hold information about transactions. Sometimes the blockchain will contain the transactions
themselves or may include the proof a transaction is valid. These basic parts constitute a
blockchain. The block is a list of recorded transactions; the chain is transactions recorded
with a hash that chains or links, preceding blocks with new blocks. A hash is an algorithm
that takes a variable string of data and generates a fixed length value. The network consists
of nodes, each containing all of the transactions within the ledger (National Archives and
Records Administration, 2019).

Blockchain types
The blockchain types are as follows: public, private, and permissioned.
Public blockchains are large distributed networks available for anyone to participate in
and are generally open-sourced with the code maintained by a broad community. Bitcoin is
one of the most commonly known public blockchain networks.
Private blockchains are tightly controlled and established to share sensitive information.
An organization could use a private blockchain to certify documents for its own use.
Permissioned blockchains are distributed networks with established roles for individuals or Blockchain
organizations when using blockchains. Businesses are exploring permissioned blockchains. and records
For example, Vanguard implemented blockchain technology to manage its index fund
(Kauflin, 2019); Walmart established a blockchain to aid in tracking food within its supply
management
chain (Hyperledger, 2018); and the De Beers Group launched a blockchain-based system,
Tracr, to track the provenance of diamonds from mining to retail to eliminate conflict
diamonds from the supply chain. Similarly, conflict minerals (tantalum, tin, and gold) are
vital for high-tech products, but the sources are questionable. Companies are looking to 279
leverage blockchain and quick response codes to track the supply chains for these minerals
(Nicola, 2019). Private blockchains share attributes of permissioned blockchains because the
network can be shared across organizations and the identities of the network participants
are known. Access restrictions, upon users or the data, are often what differentiates private
from permissioned blockchains.
Nodes on private blockchains may experience faster transaction performance because
there are fewer participants on the network. Fewer participants also mean the system has a
more efficient consensus mechanism. The smaller network also means better scalability to
more easily add or remove nodes (Massessi, 2018).

Blockchain platforms
Blockchains are made up of a collection of underlying technologies that can be bound
together in multiple ways. This allows them to be configured to serve different purposes.
There is a myriad of blockchain platforms available. The most well-known among the
platforms is the public blockchain, Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency with a related open-source
platform. Bitcoin assumes no trust between parties and requires numerous decentralized
nodes to ensure the blockchain has not been corrupted by malicious actors.
There are two other platforms, Ethereum and Hyperledger, that are gaining more
widespread use through pilots and may have records management applications or
ramifications. Ethereum is an open-source programming language, which allows users to
build full applications with an integrated blockchain. Ethereum can be used to program
executable smart contracts and decentralized applications using the blockchain. The UK
Archives project, ARCHANGEL (www.archangel.ac.uk/), is exploring blockchains to create
a trusted repository for archival holdings and using Ethereum. The project is piloting a
permissioned blockchain with government archives of the USA, Estonia, Norway, and
Australia. This pilot provides a method of proof that digital records accessioned by the
archives were not altered after the transfer (Collomosse et al., 2018). The Hyperledger project
is focusing on developing open-source standards, frameworks, and tools for blockchains.
Some library and information science schools are incorporating Hyperledger fabric, one of
the frameworks, into their curriculum.

Smart contracts
A smart contract is a contract that has been translated into the software language of the
blockchain, stored on the blockchain, and can be autonomously executed by a triggering
event. Put differently, a smart contract is a series of if/then statements programmed and
saved on the blockchain. Once the requirements of the smart contract are met, the contract
will automatically be executed and the resulting action will be stored and shared across
the blockchain. For example, a songwriter can sell a digital song at a certain price in an
online music app. This agreement could be programmed into Ethereum as a smart contract.
The smart contract will automatically distribute payment to the songwriter when a fan buys
the digital song and capture the transaction in the blockchain.
RMJ Data management
30,3 Governmental and academic entities are actively exploring or implementing blockchains to
confirm identity. Governments are piloting registry services for birth, death and marriage
certificates. In late 2018, a birth in India was registered on a blockchain (Mukherji and
Chakraborti, 2018). In a recent use case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) developed a prototype to manage the attestations of public health experts. Multiple
280 partners require the ability to share and verify attestations during an emergency. The
personal information is stored off-chain, but the partner organization can verify credentials
through the blockchain. Currently, the prototype is limited to CDC. If successful, the intent is
to include other governmental partners (Kuwabara, 2019). A consortium of international
universities are planning to store academic credentials on a blockchain. Normally the
academic degree is owned by the issuing university, but the goal is for the individual to own
the credential (Jakobson, 2019).
The use of blockchains to manage personal information or digital identity has the
potential to be more complicated with the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR)
(Council of the European Union, 2016) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (2018), the
CCPA, which allows individuals to have personal data removed from online sources. The
GDPR requires that organizations make data protection a part of their information
governance structure. In a permissionless blockchain, who controls the data? It may be
impossible to remove or correct data that is stored within a blockchain although it may be
possible to use irreversible encryption to erase data. Developers must be compliant with
regulations and rules when developing technological solutions to manage personal data; and
therefore, information governance will be key for implementation (Hofman et al., 2019).

Records existing on a blockchain

Victoria Lemeiux (2016) addressed blockchain and its records management implications in
her 2016 paper, “Trusting records: is Blockchain Technology the answer?” Since then,
blockchain has continued to evolve and we are now seeing prototypes and pilots.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines records as: information
created, received and maintained as evidence and as an asset by an organization or person,
in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business (ISO 15489-1). This definition
includes all records, regardless of physical form or characteristics, including information
created, manipulated, communicated, or stored in digital or electronic form.
The hash, block header, and transactional data collectively could be a record, particularly
if they are made in connection with the transaction of business. The records within the
blockchain may pertain to a variety of record types accumulated from multiple transactions;
for example, a land transaction could be stored alongside a payment. Blockchain’s inherent
capability drives decentralized recordkeeping of transactional data, meaning records will be
stored on the blockchain network, or platform, and shared among all subscribing nodes.
National, regional, and academic organizations will likely focus on implementing private
or permissioned blockchains. These blockchains would allow inter-organizational
transactions with known actors in a structured pattern. Theoretically, private or
permissioned blockchains present far less risks to records stored on blockchain platforms
because roles and responsibilities are more clearly defined when the blockchain is
established.

Records disposition
During the development of blockchain platforms, system developers have the ability to
program smart contracts that will render transactional data, or records, cryptographically
inaccessible. This means the records are not deleted from the blockchain, but are Blockchain
cryptographically redacted from general view. It is not clear yet if cryptographically and records
inaccessible data means it will be permanently inaccessible, and therefore, could be management
considered removed or disposed.
From a records management perspective, features that make data cryptographically
inaccessible indicate records retention and disposition were not included as part of the
original intention of blockchain developers. The use of these smart contracts could 281
potentially address record access, retention, disposition, security classification and
declassification, and litigation hold requirements depending on how the blockchain rules,
roles, and features are developed.

Security and records immutability

The technical blockchain description above briefly covers the utility of consensus
mechanisms. Platforms or systems suffering infiltration by untrustworthy nodes may upset
the balance or calculation of consensus. This unbalance may subject the last block to
revision.
A fork is a change in the protocol or data structure. Generally, it has been deployed when
a ledger is hacked or upon discovery of a coding error or bug. In Figure 1, there are two
types, namely, hard forks and soft forks. A soft fork is backward compatible. A new rule can
be implemented and older blocks will remain unchanged. Any new blocks added to the
network will comply with the new rule, but if a node does not support the change, the
transaction will still be valid. Unlike the soft fork, a hard fork is not backward compatible
and all the nodes will have to comply with the new rule (Yaga et al., 2018).

Authenticity and integrity

One of the fundamental issues for records management has been ensuring the
authenticity and integrity of records. Blockchain presents records managers a new way
to ensure electronic records maintain their integrity. Three examples of blockchain use
might include:

Figure 1.
Soft fork and hard
fork diagram by
Anthony Wright de
Hernandez
RMJ  Digital signatures, a common form of transactional data. Currently, when we
30,3 digitally sign an electronic textual document, such as a portable document format
(PDF), the signature is stored in the document itself. Signatures must be applied
sequentially, and if the certificate expires, the validity of the document can be
questioned. Storing signatures, along with a hash of the document, on a blockchain
removes the requirement for sequential signing and certificates. This could be
282 particularly useful for long-term records, such as land deeds and wills;
 A blockchain can be used to determine the authenticity of a physical object or real
property. In the art world, a buyer would want to ensure the painting being
purchased is certified as authentic. As the certificate of authenticity can be retained
in the blockchain, it would be difficult to counterfeit, and conversely, the certificate
for a counterfeit painting would not validate against the authentic one; and
 Similarly, a blockchain could be used to provide authenticity for a record. When an
organization provides a record to users, it can usually provide provenance and
certification that it is a true and accurate copy. If there is any question afterward, it
would have to be compared to the original. If the certificate of authenticity is
retained in a blockchain, the record could be re-hashed to determine if any changes
or alterations have been made. Photographs can be altered, cropped or otherwise
modified by a researcher, and if the hash fails upon comparison, then they would be
able to prove the image had been changed.

Records appraisal
If records are created with blockchains, it could impact how records managers approach the
appraisal of records. Records appraisal processes could follow a strategic and proactive appraisal
model, which includes evaluating the content and context of the subject of the records,
independent of format, to determine the value and the retention period for the records [ISO/TR
21946:2018 (E)].

Transferring records
Transferring blockchain records to archives is a theoretical discussion at this point. No
records created within a blockchain have been scheduled as permanent, yet. Some of the
questions organizations should consider for transferring blockchain records are:

Q1. Are there special resources needed to permanently store blockchain records, such as
node/network administration skills?
Q2. As the records within the blocks may consist of a variety of record types
accumulated from multiple transactions, would an archives be able to access the
formats contained in the blocks?
Q3. How would an archives manage, preserve, or provide access to blockchains
containing cryptographically inaccessible parts? The blocks could not be removed
because that would invalidate the blockchain but they could not be accessed
because of how the blockchain rules were established.
Q4. If multiple agencies are on the blockchain network, each with their own node, would
a single creating agency or owner be responsible for transferring the records or
transactional data? The blockchain is identical for every organization.
 Q5. What if an archives becomes a node itself? In that scenario, the physical “transfer” Blockchain
of the blockchain records becomes irrelevant. Would the legal transfer of the and records
blockchain records happen when an archives is included on the blockchain?
(National Archives and Records Administration, 2019).
management
Mark Stuart Day (2019) examines what he calls the “shutdown problem” and that there may
not be one approach to preserving records on a blockchain. It may be possible to use the
hard fork method. He suggests combining blockchain technologies with archival 283
technologies so that the blockchain is irreversible or never rewritten.

Decentralization challenge
Current records management models rely on a centralized collection of electronic records
captured and maintained within the structures and systems of an organization. For example,
some organizations use content management systems to locate, tag, and govern collections
of photos. Other organizations may use Microsoft Office 365 to manage-in-place electronic
records created with desktop applications. Blockchain shifts the responsibility and trust for
maintaining electronic records from the structures and systems of the organization to a
distributed network. This represents a change in the role of centralized records management
systems and tools; a shift to the blockchain itself performing the validity and trust that
records management systems performed (Lemieux, 2017).
More broadly, this shift from a centralized model of trust to a network-based model is
becoming more common across various technology sectors. Whether it be technology
(the internet) or the way we communicate (e.g. Facebook, Instagram or Twitter), networks
are becoming a primary organizing principle. This shift is reflected in archival description
projects, such as Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) (https://snaccooperative.
org/), which seeks to place historical figures in the broader context of their relationships
with other people. SNAC uses a networked approach to show how multiple archival
repositories have related collections telling their stories in multiple ways.
This shift may impact how records are organized and arranged and maintained over
time, which in turn, will impact how records managers collect records, apply intellectual and
access controls, and execute disposition rules.

Blockchain and archival integrity

Video, audio, and photo manipulation presents a unique challenge to archival repositories with a
mission to collect, maintain, and provide access to the authentic records. For example, there are
video editing applications for facial manipulation of YouTube videos, as well as highly accurate
voice editing software, which allows users to more easily create “fake videos” without detection.
To address the challenge of archival integrity, the US National Archives included hashes
in the metadata of the John F. Kennedy assassination materials (www.archives.gov/
research/jfk/jfkbulkdownload) released in 2018. Each of the bulk download items includes a
hash, which allows the public to validate that the materials have not been altered.
Blockchain technology could be part of future archival integrity solutions as well. The UK
Archangel project also proposes content-aware hashing as a way to further ensure long term
integrity of the digital video.
The Archangel project is also exploring theoretical methods of validating the long term
integrity and authenticity of video content. The first is temporal content hashing (TCH),
which is a basic algorithm that identifies inconsistencies in the timelapse of visual and
sound data. The algorithm identifies any gaps in time as potential tampering. The second
method uses a private blockchain shared across multiple archives participating in
RMJ Archangel. The TCH is stored on the blockchain while the algorithm and video are stored
30,3 off-chain (Bui et al., 2019).

Blockchain as a service
As with cloud-based technologies such as infrastructure as a service or software as a
service, blockchain has now evolved to the point that private companies are now offering
284 blockchain as a service (BaaS). Initially, the providers were small companies looking to
leverage blockchain, tokens, and open-source platforms. As the technology has matured,
larger corporations, such as Amazon and Microsoft are expanding options. BaaS eliminates
the need for hardware investment, platform development, and complex programming, as
consensus mechanisms are built-in: customers simply hire the service provider to configure
or turn on the applications they want, including smart contracts. Service providers also
provide organizations with templates to implement distributed ledger governance, all of
which is a departure from traditional business models where organizations were left to their
own ingenuity. Most providers are using platforms that are open-source and more widely
available such as Hyperledger and Ethereum (e.g. Amazon Web Services https://aws.
amazon.com/managed-blockchain/ and Microsoft Azure https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/
solutions/blockchain/).
Concerns surrounding the management of records by third parties when implementing
BaaS are the same as compared to other technologies that manage records. More
specifically, this involves organizational data stored in a cloud not owned by the
organization, but yet there is a need to retain legal ownership or data rights to the
information.
As organizations adopt blockchain technologies, they should:
 develop policies to address the records management implications of blockchain;
 implement systems that can execute archival policies;
 ensure blockchain records/transactional data can be accessed over time; and
 be able to dispose of blockchain records or transactional data.

Conclusion
Blockchain technology is both a new approach and a disruptive force for managing records.
In this paper, we explicitly state records exist on blockchains. Transactional data created
within blockchains are records because they document business transactions. Based on this
recognition, organizations must adequately manage blockchain records.
Blockchain technology presents records managers with a new way to ensure electronic
systems offer integrity. Blockchains can authenticate records by validating the hash to
determine if any changes or alterations have been made. However, this independent
authentication and verification are dependent on maintaining all components of a
blockchain: hash, block header, and transactional data. It is not certain if in the future
blockchain records will be accessible or usable outside of its native system or platform.
Governments, businesses, and other organizations will need to ensure their business and
record-keeping requirements are included as early as possible when incorporating
blockchain into system designs. Depending on the implementation, system developers have
the opportunity to write program code and smart contracts, which could potentially address
record access, retention, disposition, and accessioning requirements. We anticipate a flexible
records management framework will be necessary to provide information governance and
controls for blockchain and other disruptive technologies.
 Blockchain may fundamentally impact the role of trusted third parties, such as Blockchain
businesses, banks, and governments. The broader shift to a decentralized model of records and records
management will be accelerated by the adoption of blockchain. There are prominent
communities of interest closely engaged in and monitoring the development of this
management
technology. It is foreseeable the record’s landscape will transition to the blockchain as a
foundational technology, analogous to the ubiquitous adoption of computers in the 1980s
(Newburger, 2001).
285
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Further readings
International Organization for Standardization (2016), ISO 15489-1:2016 Information and
Documentation – Records Management – Part 1: Concepts and Principles, ISO, Geneva.
International Organization for Standardization (2018), ISO/TR 21946:2018(E) Information and
Documentation – Appraisal for Managing Records, ISO, Geneva.

Corresponding author
Sharmila Bhatia can be contacted at: sharmila_bhatia88@hotmail.com

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