# Blockchain for Doping Control Applications in Sports: A Conceptual Approach
## 1 Introduction  
With the advent of Bitcoin, the phenomenon of blockchain had its trigger, creating expectations over the potential of cryptocurrencies. More recently, the underlying principles of the technology have proved valuable for several other applications. As a consequence, several initiatives are flourishing in areas as diverse as healthcare, supply chain management, government services, manufacturing, digital rights management, digital identity, energy, and many others [1]. In 2019, Gartner placed blockchain as one of the top ten technological trends, with market researchers suggesting that the technology's value creation may reach the mark of USD 3.1 trillion by 2030 [2]. As discussed throughout this article, organizations participating in the anti-doping (AD) domain have strict needs to collaborate among themselves, in a way to establish trustworthy processes where different instances of data need to be generated, stored, and shared. Given the high stakes involved in competitive sports, humans are sometimes inclined to subvert processes to their own benefit. Additionally, as such processes involve sensitive personal data, all possible protection to the disclosure of identities shall be considered. It is paramount to assure the veracity, immutability, and auditability of produced data, and the adoption of blockchain platforms is becoming a popular solution for such scenarios. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was created in 1999 to lead global efforts in the fight against doping. Hundreds of signatories have adhered to the agency's specifications and policies. Among them are the major sport governing bodies and anti-doping organizations (ADOs) at international, regional, and national levels. The agency has createdthe World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) and a set of complementary annexes establishing best practices and guidelines. WADA is also responsible for the Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS) [3], a centralized web-based database that serves as a clearinghouse for doping control processes and is accessed by members of the participating organizations [4]. ADAMS concentrates different categories of sensitive doping-related data (e.g., whereabouts, doping control reports, therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) reports, laboratory results, anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs), and intelligence for doping control) [3; 5]. The present AD strategy considers a diversification of efforts beyond the traditional detection of prohibited substances from laboratorial exams [5]. Transparent collaboration, reliable, timely data, and secure operational procedures are needed [5; 6]. Recent investigations have reinforced previous evidence indicating the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs in sports and found acute processual failures in different organizations, concluding that incumbent siloed, centralized systems for data management create difficulties for a collaborative, fraud-proof, transparent, and secure framework [7]. Therefore, the following research question is posed:  
* How can the AD ecosystem benefit from blockchain technologies for its data governance model and data sharing processes? The adoption of a blockchain platform can enable decentralized governance for data, and processes can be executed by means of decentralized applications and smart contracts, with all transactions permanently recorded on the decentralized ledger. This work intends to explore how available technologies can be applied to create a more democratic and trustworthy framework for the governance and exchange of data within the AD ecosystem. To answer the research question, investigations were conducted to identify recurring problems within the current AD governance model and processes, as well as a thorough study of blockchain technologies to identify the applicability of existing platforms and features needed to achieve the desired goals.