The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced the formation of a Blockchain Advisory Group (BAG), an advisory body that will explore the potential of blockchain technologies to modernize public services and address sustainability challenges. Launch of the initiative announced on 3 June at the Proof of Talk 2026 conference in Paris.

The first session, chaired by Haolyan Xu, focused on financial inclusion and digital finance, with participants discussing systemic barriers that still limit millions of people’s access to basic financial services. The BAG includes 26 organizations from the blockchain industry, including the Ethereum Foundation, Cardano Foundation, Algorand Foundation, Kraken, Sui Foundation, and Web3 Foundation.

The group will meet twice a year to discuss key topics: digital governance, digital identification, financial inclusion, climate initiatives, sustainability, and the impact of digitalization on the labor market. At the same time, AltFinLab of UNDP held a series of events "Scaling blockchain for the benefit of society", where projects in decentralized AI and social innovation were presented.

Already, UNDP is implementing pilot projects with government agencies and technology companies in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, and Asia-Pacific. Areas of work include digital payments, supply chain tracking, government procurement, climate finance, and a citizen-identification system.