Blockchain in the “Time Bank”: Toward a Community-Oriented Public Interest Technology

Blockchain technology has been popularized in recent years, fundamentally affecting the way people will trade and exchange in the future. As people exchange services and skills in “time banks” with reciprocity as the premise, it seems a community system can be developed using blockchain technology. This study aims to explore how to apply blockchain technology in time banks; it describes how time banks' roles and functions will change once blockchain technology is adopted in. The proposed blockchain solution for time banks will supply a meaningful reference for government policy makers, nonprofit organizations, social workers, communities, and researchers. Blockchain will thus find its own way in the complex social welfare field and contribute greater value to our society.