Workshop on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies

Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) continue to attract significant interest given their potential to support new forms of digital infrastructure, recordkeeping, and digital assets across a range of sectors. The recent White House report Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology highlights the importance of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies to innovation and U.S. leadership, both in the financial sector and beyond. It also underscores the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) role in standards development through pre-standardization research and participation in standards-setting activities.

NIST, a bureau of the Department of Commerce that specializes in measurement science, standards development, and emerging technology research, is convening a public workshop to examine technical considerations at the technology layer of blockchain and DLT. The workshop will focus on technical architectures, interoperability challenges, operational practices, and security risks that are emerging in real-world blockchain and DLT deployments.

During this workshop, participants can expect to engage in discussions with industry experts on where existing standards, specifications, and widely adopted practices are effectively supporting secure DLT systems, what interoperability challenges or gaps remain, and how ongoing technical work across industry and standards organizations are addressing these challenges.

Audience

This workshop is intended for:

• DLT platform and infrastructure developers
• Security engineers and system architects
• Standards developers and technical contributors
• Industry practitioners with experience designing, deploying, or assessing DLT systems, including both public/permissionless and private/permissioned systems
• Policymakers and regulators interested in DLT/blockchain technologies, digital assets, and the suite of critical and emerging technologies that enable this ecosystem, including post-quantum cryptography, digital identity, digital wallets, smart contracts, and privacy-enhancing technologies

Discussions will be technically focused and oriented toward implementation lessons learned, persistent and systemic operational challenges, and opportunities for ongoing or new standards development. Attendees will benefit from familiarity with the technical design, deployment, security, or standardization of blockchain and DLT systems.

This workshop will explore:

• Existing Standards and Practices – What existing standards, specifications, or widely adopted practices are being used to support interoperable and secure DLT deployments?
• Gaps and Technical Challenges – Where do gaps exist in current standards, guidance, or shared technical practices?
• Coordination and Ongoing Efforts – Where are industry, open-source communities, and standards organizations already coordinating effectively on DLT security and privacy topics?
• Cybersecurity Risks – What cybersecurity risks are most encountered in deployed DLT systems today?

This workshop will feature in-person and virtual presentations in the morning, followed by in-person only breakout sessions in the afternoon. The breakout sessions will allow in-person attendees to engage directly with the NIST team to further discuss the current cybersecurity and privacy landscape for blockchain and DLT technologies.

Informed by the feedback received during this workshop, NIST will develop a report that synthesizes the technical input received, identifies key findings and gaps, and describes potential next steps and areas for further work by NIST, industry, and standards organizations.