The Ethereum Foundation offers itself to governments as digital public infrastructure

It launches publicsector.ethereum.foundation, a website for governments, multilateral bodies and NGOs. It cites as an example Bhutan’s national digital identity, which uses a registry on Ethereum to verify credentials without publishing them

Public services increasingly depend on digital systems that allow institutions to collaborate across organizational and national boundaries. This cooperation may involve government agencies verifying documents issued by other authorities, or humanitarian organizations coordinating assistance while protecting sensitive personal information. However, technical interoperability alone does not resolve a fundamental question: who controls the infrastructure on which this cooperation depends?

Ethereum offers a different foundation for digital public infrastructure. It is a global network that no organization controls, and its software is open source so that anyone can inspect it, use it and build on it.

Our new website, https://publicsector.ethereum.foundation/ , explores the implications of these characteristics for governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs and other public-interest institutions. It brings together accessible explanations of Ethereum, case studies of real-world implementations and practical resources for institutions considering its potential uses. At its core is the idea that Ethereum can foster cooperation through neutral, shared infrastructure, helping to preserve institutional and individual sovereignty.

Institutional sovereignty and individual agency

When a single organization operates shared infrastructure, other participants may depend on that provider for continued access or for the verification of records. For public services that are expected to outlast individual contracts and political cycles, these dependencies can have significant consequences.

Ethereum allows institutions to use shared infrastructure without giving any particular organization control over the underlying network. They can verify records independently and choose how to access the network, including through different service providers or their own infrastructure. At the same time, they retain control over their own policies and systems.

For individuals, sovereignty means control over their personal information and the freedom to decide what to disclose. Applications that use Ethereum can be designed so that people hold their own digital credentials and choose how to present them. Services can verify the authenticity of these credentials without needing to publish the underlying personal information on Ethereum. This allows institutions to remain responsible for the information they certify, while individuals exercise greater control over how that information is stored and shared.

From principles to practice

For communities scattered across Bhutan’s mountainous terrain, accessing services in person can mean long and costly journeys. Bhutan’s National Digital Identity (NDI) system enables remote identity verification through digital credentials issued by authorized organizations. Instead of storing these credentials in a centralized government database, users keep them in their own NDI wallets and decide what information to share when accessing services. A shared registry on Ethereum helps participating services verify the authenticity of these credentials without publishing them on the network.

Bhutanese institutions remain responsible for determining which organizations can issue trusted credentials, while individuals retain greater control over their personal information.

Read the Bhutan NDI case study.

A different challenge arises in humanitarian assistance, where organizations serving overlapping populations need to coordinate aid without unnecessarily sharing sensitive personal data.

Following conversations with humanitarian organizations and collaboration with engineers and product leads, the Ethereum Foundation’s Technical Foundations team developed a proof of concept exploring how aid coordination could work on the public Ethereum network while protecting sensitive personal information.

This approach combines decentralized identity with private payment mechanisms. Participating organizations can coordinate through shared infrastructure without needing to exchange the personal data they hold or rely on a single agency to operate the underlying network. Each organization remains responsible for the information it collects and the assistance it provides.

The Technical Foundations team has published a series of articles examining the proof of concept in greater depth, including its technical design, key lessons learned and future lines of development.

Read the Technical Foundations articles.

A shared foundation for the public interest

The long-term promise of digital public infrastructure does not lie simply in the ability to connect more services. It is about institutions being able to cooperate without giving up their independence, while individuals can participate in digital systems with greater control over their personal information. Ethereum can support both goals through open, shared infrastructure that no organization controls.

For institutions interested in what this could mean in practice, https://publicsector.ethereum.foundation/ offers a starting point for understanding Ethereum’s capabilities and potential applications