The ledger: what it provides, what it does not establish
MAP relies on a blockchain implementation to keep the ledger of the arrangement’s entries. A distributed ledger brings properties useful to the integrity of a history. It replaces neither onboarding controls nor the supervision of a programme.
What the ledger provides
- A history of entries whose retroactive modification is detectable.
- An order and a time-stamp common to all recorded entries.
- A shared read for authorised parties, with no manual reconstruction.
What it does not establish
- The truthfulness of data entered: a faithful entry can record false information.
- The absence of fraud: this depends on onboarding and monitoring controls.
- The compliance of a spend: this depends on the programme’s rules and on supporting documents.
Governance and access
A ledger raises questions of governance: which network, which actors validate the entries, which data are recorded on-chain and which remain off-chain, who has access to what. The answers applicable to MAP’s arrangement are published with the service’s technical documentation: network adopted, validating actors, nature of entries, data kept off-chain.
Articulation with financial systems
The ledger is one component among others: the funds received, their safeguarding, payment operations and the institution’s obligations fall under the applicable financial systems and rules. The ledger technology does not alter this articulation.
Legal characterisation
The characterisation of instruments recorded on a distributed ledger is examined on the actual product, on the basis of its features. MAP publishes no general conclusion on whether or not a particular regime applies solely by reason of the use of a blockchain.
Personal data and the ledger
Recording data in a distributed ledger raises specific questions of retention and of the exercise of rights. The treatment adopted is described on the Personal data page, with the distinction between data recorded on-chain and data kept off-chain.
Examine the architecture with your CIO
We present the role of the ledger, the exchanges expected with your systems and the technical documentation available.