Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/879686
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2017 News YANNICK PACE A property transfer manage- ment system promising to fa- cilitate notarial work through the use of blockchain technol- ogy is set to be launched this week. The system – the first locally built blockchain appli- cation – was created by Ledger Projects and is intended to as- sist and "empower" notaries handling property transfers, explained David Schranz, a technologist, and one of the company's two founding di- rectors. "If someone wants to buy a property and goes to a notary to sign a promise of sale, once that is published it is put on the blockchain," said Schranz. The system he said would allow notaries to upload con- tracts, from a promise of sale onwards, to the blockchain and, in the case of public con- tracts, will allow them to be viewed by other notaries. "If you go to another notary two seconds after they will know that property has been sold," he added. Schranz explained that this would ensure that any devel- opments in relation to a prop- erty are instantly logged on the blockchain in a manner that does not allow it to be ma- nipulated. In addition to this, he said the platform would also be of- fering a "business inheritance tool" for authorities, who will have access to real-time infor- mation on sales of properties in Malta, including the locali- ties experiencing high rates of property transfers as well as the prices at which properties are being sold. The platform has gone through almost two years of development, and was de- signed with the help of a num- ber of notaries in order for it to be perfectly suited to the pro- fession's needs. On how the platform's suc- cess would be gauged, Schranz said that while the obvious aim is for the system to be used by as many notaries as possible, the goal is for the system to be accepted by authorities and "adopted as a standard". Ultimately, he said that the system would offer peace of mind to both buyers and sell- ers, since it reduces the po- tential for human error, while allowing developments to be logged instantaneously. "Once its online, its done. It's like transferring money online, where once you see it's gone through you're certain there are no problems," he added. Not about replacing notaries Blockchain technology, like many other new technologies, promises to cut out intermedi- aries in many sectors however Schranz insisted that in this scenario, this was not the case. "The system still depends on what the notary is input- ting," he said, insisting that the system would only be us- ing the "smart contracts" side of blockchain technology to make notarial services more professional. "We just want to introduce smart contract so that the au- thorities are immediately go- ing to be made aware but the paperwork will remain the same so if a contract must be submitted within two weeks this will not change," said Schranz. In theory, explained the tech- nologist, the technology could one day be used for carrying out notarial searches, for exam- ple, however this would require the involvement of agencies like the Planning Authority, as well as banks and a vast array of other stakeholders. "We're nowhere close to this sort of innovation and we're not trying to move into that area," he insisted, adding that unlike bitcoin – which is often associated, or at times mistaken for blockchain technology – the application was not trying to bypass all intermediar- ies, but rather would seek to compliment and facilitate their work. Local property management blockchain platform set for launch What is blockchain? It's a shared ledger for recording the history of transactions - that cannot be altered. Why do we need it? How does blockchain work? The benefits of blockchain are critical to enterprises. Blockchain can enable enterprises across many industries to: Transactions take place every second — orders, payments, account tracking. Often, each partici- pant has his own ledger — and, thus, his own version of the truth. Having multiple ledgers is a recipe for error, fraud and inefficiencies. The goal is to see a transaction end-to-end and reduce those vulnerabilities. Permissioned Each member of the network has access rights so that confidential information is shared on a need-to-know basis. Secured Consensus is required from all network members and all validated transactions are permanently recorded. No one, not even a system administrator, can delete. B Reliance on intermediaries for validation creates inefficiencies C Can be a paper-laden process, resulting in frequent delays and potential losses for all stakeholders A Each participant has his own, separate ledger — increasing the possibility of human error or fraud B All parties must give consensus before a new transaction is added to the network C Eliminates or reduces paper processes, speeding up transaction times and increasing efficiencies A Single shared ledger that is tamper- evident. Once recorded, transactions cannot be altered Distributed It works as a system of record that is shared among participants of the business network, eliminating the need to reconcile disparate ledgers. Keep a record of high-resolution photos of each diamond at every touchpoint along its journey. Let's see how it works in one industry. Tracking diamonds from mine to final customer is complex. Diamond smuggling, fraud, counterfeit diamonds and unethically mined stones pose real challenges. With blockchain, it's possible to: Transactions are complex. Blockchain makes it better. Track real-time records of every payment transaction. Maintain product details like cut, clarity, color, carat and diamond serial numbers. Hold certificates of authenticity. As each transaction occurs, it's put into a block. Each block is connected to the one before and after it. Each block is added to the next in an irreversible chain. Transactions are blocked together. Building a blockchain. What is blockchain? BLOCKCHAIN is a shared ledger for recording the his- tory of transactions - that cannot be altered. Transac- tions take place every sec- ond — orders, payments, account tracking. Often, each participant has his own ledger — and, thus, his own version of the truth. Having multiple ledgers is a recipe for error, fraud and in- efficiencies. The goal is to see a transaction end-to-end and reduce those vulnerabilities. At its most basic, a block- chain is a decentralised and continuously growing list of records that can be added to, but not altered. While this might not seem as revolutionary as the atten- tion being received by block- chain might suggest, the in- novation lies in the fact that each new record, or "block" in the chain, is secured us- ing cryptography, and has a timestamp and other trans- action data. Moreover, the fact that it can be accessed, ensures that each entry is unique and easily traceable, and many working in the field have argued that the value of blockchain lies in the fact that it creates the basis upon which parties involved in any form of transaction can trust each other. In any transaction involv- ing value, be it money, prop- erty or work, a relationship of trust must be established between the parties on either end of the relationship. At present: SOURCE: IBM