Ethereum Foundation outlines how its open network could support digital public infrastructure, citing Bhutan’s NDI and a humanitarian proof of concept.

Ethereum Foundation has framed Ethereum as a potential base layer for digital public infrastructure, arguing that public services can share digital systems without handing control of the underlying network to a single operator. In a blog post published on 3 November 2026, the foundation said the network’s open-source and publicly verifiable design could help institutions collaborate across organizational and national boundaries while preserving more control over their own policies and systems.

The post said the issue is not only technical interoperability, but also governance: who controls the infrastructure that public services depend on. According to the Ethereum Foundation, Ethereum is a global network that no single organization controls, and its software is open source for inspection and reuse. The foundation said a new website, publicsector.ethereum.foundation, collects explanations, case studies and practical resources for governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs and other public-interest institutions.

The foundation distinguished between institutional and individual sovereignty. For institutions, it said shared infrastructure can create dependency if one provider operates the system and can affect continued access or verification of records. Ethereum, it argued, allows institutions to independently verify records and choose different service providers or their own infrastructure, while retaining authority over their policies. For individuals, it said applications can be designed so people hold their own digital credentials and decide what to disclose, while services verify those credentials without publishing underlying personal information on Ethereum.

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