Blockchain and the Future of Academic Credentialing: Opportunities, Challenges, and Critical Perspectives in Higher Education Institutions

This chapter critically explores the integration of blockchain technology into credential verification and knowledge management systems within higher education institutions (HEIs). As global academic mobility increases, so does the demand for secure, interoperable, and fraud-resistant credentialing infrastructures. Blockchain, characterized by decentralization, immutability, and cryptographic transparency, offers promising solutions to address longstanding inefficiencies, such as verification delays, data fragmentation, and credential fraud.However, the chapter adopts a critical lens, emphasizing that unresolved challenges accompany blockchain’s benefits. These include legal tensions with privacy regulations such as general data protection regulation (GDPR) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), environmental sustainability concerns due to energy-intensive consensus mechanisms, and institutional inertia from financial, technical, and cultural barriers. Moreover, the scalability and standardization of blockchain across heterogeneous educational systems remain uncertain. The discussion evaluates potential responses, including sustainable blockchain models, consortium-based governance, and policy innovation, to ensure that blockchain serves as a tool for educational equity, not technological exclusion.The chapter concludes that blockchain holds transformative potential for academic verification, but its successful deployment depends on a nuanced, evidence-based, and ethically grounded approach. Institutions must balance innovation with regulatory compliance, environmental responsibility, and pedagogical integrity, ensuring that blockchain adoption genuinely advances the mission of inclusive, sustainable, and globally recognized higher education.