Does blockchain technology drive sustainability? An exploratory review

Blockchain technology is an extension of distributed ledger technology and it is used in cryptocurrencies. Many studies describe blockchain technology and cryptocurrency is an application of it in a very broad sense. Blockchain technology has several applications. Some of these applications could have direct or indirect relevance to either or both pillars of sustainability advocated by Crowther, Seifi, and Wond (2019). Extending to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, one possible connection to sustainability may be the reduction of the use of paper for printing currency notes, which can save forests. Furthermore, the growing cryptocurrency market attracted the investors to focus on the price fluctuations but making them forget about the terrifying carbon problem associated with cryptocurrencies. However, this possibility has not been demonstrated anywhere so far. The issue examined here is how blockchain technology can be used for solving sustainability problems. We initiate a qualitative study of the blockchain technology/cryptocurrency and sustainability using the twin pillars of sustainability: (1) responsibility, (2) governance. An exploratory review linking blockchain technology/cryptocurrency and sustainability and its two pillars revealed many actual and trial applications by corporates as CSR initiatives and other novel programs by various agencies in various countries. In governance, corporates use the CSR route to address sustainability issues. However, no definition is an available linking cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and sustainability and we developed a definition to fill the gap. This paper stresses that the sustainability perspective has not been used to develop the cryptocurrency definition, but rather technological and legal perspectives have employed. © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited