Hello, world. 

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We’re a global, non-profit organisation that promotes the research and use of distributed ledger technology because we are passionate about its potential to create positive change.

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As the core technology behind cryptocurrencies, NFTs and decentralised finance (DeFi) distributed ledger technology (or DLT for short) is already powering a revolution in how we create and transfer value - collectively referred to as “Web3.”

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But more than just advancing our global tech stack, DLT carries the potential to revolutionise trust itself in the digital age - be it in processes, between institutions, and every aspect of human interaction:  human-to-human, human-to-machine, or machine-to-machine communications and systems.

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By replacing trust in third parties with openness and transparency we believe that DLT will enable better, fairer, and more equitable societies. 

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Our goal is to support that transition.

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Issues Facing the Advancement of DLT

The core areas where we identify issues facing the advancement of DLT are:

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• Awareness
• Funding
• Expertise
• Vision

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Awareness

As much as we believe in the huge potential of DLT, we know that to achieve our goals we need to nurture the next generation of innovators - and it isn’t the easiest subject to grasp. 

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So a big part of our mission is creating awareness around the potential benefits of DLT in a way that will bring new converts under our tent.

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Funding

Perhaps the most fundamental issue is resource allocation and funding.

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The more people (and money) have poured into the space, the more we’ve seen the conversation around DLT shift towards cryptoasset markets and prices. Today, the crypto market is a trillion-dollar global behemoth. 

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Conditions may be unfavourable as we write this, but the growth in the DLT sector has been nothing short of meteoric and we firmly believe it is just the beginning. One needs only look at the huge influx of venture capital into every hot trend in the ever-more-crowded blockchain space.

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Paradoxically, though, this presents a few issues for DLT advancement as a whole. It’s not just about how much money flows in; it’s about how effectively it’s allocated.

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Venture capital is notorious for its focus on short-term gains. And as much as asset markets can be efficient in identifying trends and regulating supply and demand, they can also be plagued by the same short-sightedness.

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To achieve our goal (and the full potential of Web3), our focus is on long-term investments in infrastructure, fundamental research, and advanced education.

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Expertise

Despite the explosive growth of the DLT industry, there’s still a shortage of expertise in many sectors. 

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While it’s understandable for a nascent body of knowledge to lack in expertise, this is also exacerbated by the fragmentation of expertise still prevalent.

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Web3 companies are always in dire need of blockchain engineers, particularly so when it comes to protocol-level experts.

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Universities and educational institutions are only slowly building up their ranks, and they have to compete with companies for a limited talent pool. 

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And when it comes to research collaboration between academia and industry, there’s still a lot to be done.

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We need more collaboration and coordination between researchers, businesses, and government to increase not just the breadth but also the depth of expertise across sectors.

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Vision

The overarching advancement of DLT has been largely fragmented across multiple ecosystems, each trying to outcompete the next.

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We’re missing a long-term, broader vision to guide the allocation of resources and expertise into a desirable future. 

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A neutral, ecosystem-agnostic vision that goes beyond just specific applications and that is driven by a focus on the positive systemic changes and fundamental relationships between people, institutions, and technology.

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Forging a New Way Forward

These are the main ways we can tackle these issues.

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• Grants: we provide grants for researchers in academia and industry to tackle some of the most fundamental problems in DLT, such as security, scalability, and decentralisation.
• In-kind contributions: we offer in-kind contributions for our community that include technical expertise/support, access to data and infrastructure that can be used for research purposes and lead to new venture creation.
• Innovation funding: we provide the early resources that entrepreneurs from academia need to take revolutionary, untested new ideas to the market.
• Education programmes and expertise: we drive education through training programmes and events to accelerate the pace of innovation and adoption of DLT.
• Peer connections: we provide academics with access to a network of peers across the blockchain ecosystem, providing opportunities for exchange of knowledge, collaboration and partnerships.

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About the Foundation

The DLT Science Foundation was founded and is led by Dr. Paolo Tasca and Nikhil Vadgama, and is also composed of leading industry and academic experts from across the globe.

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The foundation was born out of the founders’ desire to accelerate adoption of DLT across industries and academia, and to tackle some of the key issues facing a more rapid growth as identified by their work.

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The DLT science foundation is a global, distributed organisation. It’s in our DNA - much like the technology we promote.

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Dr. Tasca is a Professor at University College London digital economist specialising in distributed systems and is founder of the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies, one of the oldest and largest academic research centres in the blockchain field. He has served as a special advisor on blockchain technologies for numerous government and industry stakeholders in the world including the EU Parliament, the United Nations, and various central banks worldwide.

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Nikhil Vadgama is Programme Director of Financial Technology at the University College London, Department of Computer Science. He is also the Deputy Director of the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies. He has worked with global stakeholders from government, industry and central banks. His commercial experience spans numerous roles in the fintech, real estate and education sectors. Most recently he was Chief Data Officer of a new challenger bank called Twig.

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Come Join Us!

We’re starting our operations by putting in place a structure that will ensure evergreen funding and sustainable growth.

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We’re looking to build our ranks and fill multiple roles in various departments.

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Want to help us build this future? Check out our careers page and find your next role now.

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