Authors and The Blockchain

Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underlies cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, is widely regarded as a once-in-a-generation technological revolution. So far, it is blockchain’s potential in the finance industry that is attracting most excitement and investment but it has implications for every business, from the smallest startup to multinational giants with centuries of transactions behind them.

While the technology is not yet stable, its applications are so far limited, and perspectives on its potential are many and varied, all are agreed that it has the power to shift economies, businesses and behaviors, fundamentally changing how we use the internet and trade with each other.

ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors, believes that blockchain technology warrants the attention of publishers, and self-publishing authors in particular. The way that blockchain reconfigures digital text, books and media, legal agreements, monetization of content, and payment pathways makes it a technological breakthrough for publishing.

It can be used to maximize the value of the authors’ intellectual property and moral and monetary rights. It could also deliver an author-centered financial model for the first time in publishing history.