Through an exclusive partnership with real estate tech startup Velox.re , Chicago’s Cook County will test the use of the Bitcoin blockchain for transferring and tracking property titles and other public records. The Cook County Recorder’s Office is the second largest such office in the United States, and it it will be the first in the country to experiment with blockchain technology. Specifically, the office will be testing blockchain applications of property title transfer and a system for filing liens; compatibility between a blockchain and a traditional, server-based setup; fraudulent use prevention and conveyances of vacant property in Chicago. In addition to Velox.re and the Cook County Recorder’s Office, the International Blockchain Real Estate Association (IBREA), Armour Settlement Services , and global law firm Hogan Lovells are involved with the closed pilot project. The project was first announced by Velox.re Founder and CEO Ragnar Lifthrasir on Wednesday at the MIPIM PropTech Summit , which is part of New York City Real Estate Tech Week 2016. Velox.re’s own implementation of the open assets protocol , which is a version of the colored coins concept, will be used to test these various use cases, making this an implementation where the public Bitcoin blockchain (not a permissioned ledger ) is being used. "Real estate blockchain initiatives in other countries have used a private blockchain as an improved database of some existing land records,” Lifthrasir told Bitcoin Magazine . “This was a great first step.” “Our pilot program takes things further. Velox.re is using Bitcoin [blockchain]. We’re using it to actually convey property and register liens. We’re performing high value transactions on the blockchain. Cook County will enter these into the government public record. This is the first time this has been done in the U.S. or [anywhere else in] the world." Earlier […]
