The Trust Machine: Blockchain in Nuclear Disarmament and Arms Control Verification

Research report by Lyndon Burford

Centre for Science and Security Studies, King’s College London

Disarmament verification is a social and technical policy tool used to confirm that states are meeting their commitments when they agree to reduce weapons numbers. This research report from the Centre for Science and Security Studies, King’s College London explores whether blockchain, the technology underlying Web3 applications like cryptocurrencies and NFTs, could help to expand the policy toolbox in disarmament verification by enabling cooperation that was previously infeasible or inconceivable due to technical limitations. The report considers how blockchain might be used to advance nuclear verification methods by expanding multilateral capacity and engagement, and enabling new types of societal verification, among other things.