In April, I organized a CoinFest event in Washington, DC with speakers that presented on various topics including Blockchain Solutions for Land Titles. By the end of the event, I wanted to learn more about the creative things people are doing with Blockchain technology particularly in low income countries that are often plagued with corruption whose citizens have a difficult, unfair time keeping their land. So, here are the results of my Googling frenzy with super interesting things happening with Blockchain and Land Titles.
What’s up with land registration and why does it need help?
- An estimated 70-80% of global land is unregistered
- Hardware/software is very expensive, requires regular maintenance and a high level of technical skills to maintain including repairs
- Public land administration offices often lack the resources and have poor governance for proper recording
For any type of property it’s important to have accurate records that identify the current (and past) owner and provide proof that she’s the correct owner. Land Registration has a clear need for transparency and accuracy.
Why Blockchain?
Blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of data records hardened against tampering and revision. Blockchain poses a timely solution because it’s immutable and public.
There are a few people/companies that have taken notice of the future of Land Titles.
- BitFury has inked a deal with the Georgian government to develop a system for registering land titles using the blockchain.
- Factom, a U.S. blockchain technology company based in Austin, Texas, will provide [Blockchain technology] to the government of Honduras.
- Ubitquity is creating a software recording, tracking, and transferring titles.
This technology isn’t the be all end all solution for land registration especially since the technology is still new. It’s an exciting application for us take a better step towards transparency and give global citizens tangible access to their land rights.
DigiDólar 