Draft, not yet released. In stewardship review. Not indexed until the first approved release.

The 2027 agenda

Eight bounded questions open the 2027 distributed ledger agenda. Each comes from a baseline finding, names the initiative that will carry it and the first output due in the 2027 distributed ledger edition.

6 min read0 figures6 tables5 notesNR-XTECH-DLT-GLOBAL-2026-BASELINE

Contents
  1. ·Edition home
  2. ·Executive summary
  3. 1Ledgers are settlement infrastructure and a regulatory subject
  4. 2Key findings
  5. 3Systems and sectors at baseline
  6. 4Risks and capability
  7. 5Large stablecoin base against uneven rules and theft controls
  8. 6Readings from the other desks
  9. 7The 2027 agenda
    1. 7.1 Questions for the operational series
    2. 7.2 Portfolio proposed for the Q1 2027 alignment
    3. 7.3 The pathway
    4. 7.4 Universe 2027: evidence pack for the distributed ledger candidate mission
    5. 7.5 Handoffs and routing
    6. 7.6 Feeds and signal register
  10. 8Systems in depth
  11. AMethodology
  12. BData appendix
  13. CReferences and record
  14. ·Complete edition, for print

7.1Questions for the operational series

  1. L-01

    How large and how liquid are stablecoin reserves, and how would a run on the largest issuers pass into short-term funding markets?

    INI-XT11-STB-01 · reserves and redemption; first output: reserve and redemption register.

  2. L-02

    What do proof-of-work and proof-of-stake networks use in electricity, and where is mining sited?

    INI-XT11-ENE-02 · energy footprint; first output: footprint estimates by network.

  3. L-03

    How much value is held in keys that expose a public key, and how fast can signatures migrate?

    INI-XT11-SIG-03 · signature exposure and migration; first output: exposure and migration table.

  4. L-04

    Which losses come from theft, which from fraud, and how are they measured on a common basis?

    INI-XT11-SEC-04 · theft and illicit use; first output: loss table on a common basis.

  5. L-05

    How far do national stablecoin and crypto-asset rules agree on reserves, custody and disclosure?

    INI-XT11-REG-05 · rule comparison; first output: rule comparison table.

  6. L-06

    Which central bank projects have reached issuance, and which remain pilots?

    To be admitted in 2027; first output: project status overlay.

  7. L-07

    What workforce exists for protocol engineering, custody and supervision?

    To be admitted in 2027; first output: scoping note.

  8. L-08

    Which readiness capabilities have been tested in real incidents, and which are only planned?

    Readiness capability register; first output: rung evidence for 15 functions.

7.2Portfolio proposed for the Q1 2027 alignment

Five initiatives and one Universe mission candidate are proposed for the 2027 ledger portfolio. They are programme objects: no partner, funder or member is attached to them in this edition.

Table 7.1Objects proposed for the first operational quarter
IDObjectKindQuestionState
INI-XT11-STB-01Reserves and redemptionInitiativeL-01PROPOSED
INI-XT11-ENE-02Energy footprintInitiativeL-02PROPOSED
INI-XT11-SIG-03Signature exposure and migrationInitiativeL-03PROPOSED
INI-XT11-SEC-04Theft and illicit useInitiativeL-04PROPOSED
INI-XT11-REG-05Rule comparisonInitiativeL-05PROPOSED
MSN-XT11-2027-01Stablecoin stress Universe missionMissionL-01Candidate

7.3The pathway

The ledger edition reads national readiness chapters, the coupled sector reports on finance, cyber and energy, and the global edition through one governed evidence graph. At baseline the federation is designed; the global energy and lifeline editions are drafted. This page states what exists today and what comes next.

  1. 01

    National readiness chapters

    payments, stablecoin and digital-currency readiness in each national edition

    IN PREPARATION · national baselines

  2. 02

    Sector couplings

    GS-05 finance · GS-13 cyber and digital · XT-10 cryptography

    GS-02 DRAFTED · sector baselines

  3. 03

    Technology system model

    protocols, energy, hardware, payments, security, governance

    v0 SPECIFIED · v1 with federation evidence

  4. 04

    Strategic links

    SR-05 sovereign and financial resilience · SR-10 digital public infrastructure

    PLANNED · strategic baselines

  5. 05

    Universe

    annual proving environment

    CANDIDATE MISSION · mandate in 2027

  6. 06

    XT-11 report

    this series

    BASELINE DRAFT · 2027 annual edition

  7. 07

    Evidence and correction

    one graph, many projections

    OPEN · first correction cycle in 2027

7.4Universe 2027: evidence pack for the distributed ledger candidate mission

  1. 01

    Mandate

  2. 02

    Core Build · 1 month

  3. 03

    Action · 1 week

  4. 04

    Evidence seal

  5. 05

    Portfolio correction

  6. 06

    Next mandate

Table 7.2Universe 2027: evidence pack for the distributed ledger candidate mission
ItemRecordStateTiming
F1Annual mandate recordPLANNEDafter the Q2 2027 alignment
F2Core Build recordPLANNEDone month before the exercise
F3Exercise evidencePLANNEDduring the Action week
F4Decision packetsPLANNEDexercise state only
F5Proof receiptsPLANNEDscoped to each recorded check
F6After-action reportPLANNEDwithin one quarter
F7Upgrade docketPLANNEDrouted to the Portfolio
F8Portfolio renewalPLANNED2027 global annual edition
F9Public synthesisPLANNEDpublic-safe extracts only

Mission

ID
MSN-XT11-2027-01 · Stablecoin stress Universe mission
Role spine
Leadership sponsor · Institutional anchor · Mission lead: drawn from national pathways
Receiving actors
to be identified with the mandate

7.5Handoffs and routing

Where the baseline’s findings go next. A handoff routes a finding for awareness, review or work; it transfers no authority.

Table 7.3Handoffs and routing
FindingRouted toPurposeClass
INF-001 · energy estimateINI-XT11-ENE-02energy footprintPUBLIC
CRY-003 · draft proposalsINI-XT11-SIG-03signature exposure and migrationPUBLIC
CRY-004 · exposure estimatesINI-XT11-SIG-03signature exposure and migrationPUBLIC
GOV-005 · GENIUS ActINI-XT11-REG-05rule comparisonPUBLIC
GOV-006 · MiCAregional consortiarule comparisonPUBLIC
FIN-008 · stablecoinsINI-XT11-STB-01 · key F reviewreserves and redemptionPUBLIC
DAT-010 · theftINI-XT11-SEC-04theft and illicit usePUBLIC
SYS-012 · compound pathwayMSN-XT11-2027-01Universe candidateCONSORTIUM
Table 7.4Routing rules by publication class
ClassWhere it goesWho can see it
PUBLICthe published edition and its evidence bundleanyone
CONSORTIUMgoverned rooms of the federationconsortium members under agreement
CONTROLLEDneed-to-know channelsnamed competent actors only

7.6Feeds and signal register

Table 7.5Feeds watched from 2027
FeedProducerLatencyFeeds into
Project upgrade pages and specification repositoriesprotocol projectsper releaseINF-001
BIS and FSB publicationsBIS and FSBper releaseFIN-008
Federal Register and Congress pagesUS governmentper releaseGOV-005
ESMA and EBA pages on MiCAEuropean authoritiesper releaseGOV-006
Central bank project pagescentral banksper eventFIN-009
Law-enforcement noticesFBI and Treasuryper eventDAT-010
Security vendor crime reportssecurity vendorsannualDAT-011

Escalation routes

  • none · keep monitoring
  • research question
  • project
  • risk object
  • annual publication
  • signal report
Table 7.6Signals at baseline
IDSignalCorroborationSystemsRoute
SIG-XT11-001Stablecoin market capitalisation reached USD 317 billion17CORROBORATEDFINresearch question L-01
SIG-XT11-002Bybit theft of about USD 1.5 billion in February 20251920CORROBORATEDDATresearch question L-04
SIG-XT11-003Bitcoin quantum proposals remain drafts2324PARTIALCRY · DATinitiative L-03

Notes

Numbers are the edition’s reference numbers, so a note reads the same in every chapter. The full list, with every source and its licence, is in Annex C. Annex C, references

  1. 17Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (ed.), Stablecoins in 2025: Developments and Financial Stability Implications, FEDS Notes, 8 April 2026 (market capitalisation USD 317 billion on 6 April 2026; more than 50% above early 2025). Federal Reserve Board, Washington. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  2. 19Federal Bureau of Investigation (ed.), Public service announcement on the Bybit theft (about USD 1.5 billion in virtual assets stolen on or about 21 February 2025; attributed to North Korea). FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, Washington. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  3. 20Chainalysis (ed.), 2026 Crypto Crime Report introduction (illicit addresses received at least USD 154 billion in 2025, up 162%; sanctioned-entity value up 694%; North Korea-linked thefts USD 2 billion; Bybit nearly USD 1.5 billion; illicit share below 1%; stablecoins 84% of illicit volume). A security-vendor report and a lower-bound estimate, weak evidence. Chainalysis, New York. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  4. 23Beast, H., Heilman, E. and Duke, I.F., BIP 360: Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR), Bitcoin improvement proposal, status Draft, version 0.12.1 (resists long exposure attacks only). Bitcoin improvement proposals repository. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
  5. 24Lopp, J. et al., BIP 361: Post Quantum Migration and Legacy Signature Sunset, Bitcoin improvement proposal, status Draft, assigned 11 February 2026 (states that over 34% of all bitcoin had revealed a public key on-chain on 1 March 2026). Bitcoin improvement proposals repository. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back

Cite this chapter

Valadbaygi, S. (Ed.). (2026). Chapter 7: The 2027 agenda. In Exponential Technology Report 2026: Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers (Baseline Edition 2026, Report No. NR-XTECH-DLT-GLOBAL-2026-BASELINE) [Draft under review]. The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI).

Every citation form of the whole report, BibTeX and RIS included, is on the edition home. Cite this report

ReportsContribute

Send evidence or a correction on Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers.

Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication, written by six desks. This page sits with the Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI) Systems Evidence desk. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work. Sent to the wrong desk, it is forwarded, not refused.

GCRI Systems Evidence deskExponential Technology

Never send personal data, sensitive infrastructure detail or anything you have no right to share. A contribution is reviewed before use; sending it confers no authorship or editorial rights, and sponsorship never buys a finding.

CC BY 4.0 Free to read. Text and figures: CC BY 4.0. Data: CC0 1.0. Authors keep copyright. Published by GCRI Canada.

The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation

Science · evidence · measurement

Not for profit

Our articles, maps and twins are free to read and free to republish. Readers and partners keep it that way.

Partner with us

Who funds us

GCRI is a not-for-profit institution. To ask who funds a piece of work, use the funding questions form.

Independence

Editors and the expert reviewers named on each article decide what we publish. Funders and partners do not review or approve articles before publication.

Corrections policy

Licence

Articles: CC BY 4.0. Figures, maps, twins and data: CC BY 4.0. Other uses: ask through the permissions form.

Privacy choices