Press releases

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HM Land Registry is exploring how blockchain technology could be used to to provide quicker and simpler services.

From:

HM Land Registry



Spainter_vfx/Shutterstock.com

HM Land Registry is partnering with software company Methods, who will utilise R3’s blockchain platform, Corda, for the second phase of HM Land Registry’s groundbreaking research and development project, Digital Street.

Methods will be supported by a team of global experts from R3, Blockchain Digital, and their wider partner network. The organisations will bring their blockchain expertise to HM Land Registry, enabling Digital Street to fully explore the potential benefits of the new technology.

Digital Street will work with the industry to understand how the innovative use of technology, such as blockchain, distributed ledgers and smart contracts, could revolutionise the land registration and property buy-sell process.Graham Farrant, Chief Executive of HM Land Registry, said:

Our ambition to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, ease of use and an open approach to data requires HM Land Registry to be at the forefront of global innovation in land registration. By working with Methods on Digital Street we are taking another step toward that goal, as we explore how new technologies like blockchain can help us to develop a faster, simpler and cheaper land registration process.

Peter Rowlins, Chief Executive Officer of Methods, commented:

When we read the HM Land Registry requirement, we recognised that the unique features offered by Corda in terms of security, privacy, interoperability and the smart contract flow framework, originally designed for financial services, would be an excellent fit.

David Rutter, Chief Executive Officer of R3, commented:

We are pleased to see another innovative deployment of Corda in the public sector and look forward to working with the world’s most well-recognised land registry, HM Land Registry. Blockchain holds the potential to transform land registry services by improving speed, simplicity and efficiency. We will be working closely with HM Land Registry, Methods and our partners over the coming months to turn this potential into reality.

John Reynolds, Blockchain Digital’s Innovation & Delivery Director, commented:

Digital Street and blockchain has the potential to synchronise and optimise the way all participants in the property market interact, from solicitors to banks, from surveyors to estate agents. Over the coming months, and in support of HM Land Registry’s commitment to open data and open innovation, we will be announcing a programme of innovation and collaboration events that enable the property eco-system to join the Digital Street Community.

Notes to editors

Digital Street

HM Land Registry’s ambition is to be at the forefront of innovation by exploring how land registration and conveyancing can be made easier and how technology and data could revolutionise the process.

Digital Street is HM Land Registry’s research and development project designed to make buying and selling property simpler, quicker and cheaper through the innovative use of technology.

Now in its second year, the project is exploring the use of blockchain technology and smart contracts to bring greater transparency, speed, and trust to property transactions.

The project has already created a digital register for a small selection of properties, which is a first step towards establishing a register that is fully machine-readable and able to be updated instantly.

Methods was selected following a tender process which attracted 22 bids to support the Digital Street project team and develop greater in-house expertise.

HM Land Registry

HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.

HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services.

Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.For further information about HM Land Registry visit gov.uk/land-registry.Follow us on: Twitter @HMLandRegistry, our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

HM Land Registry Business Strategy

Digital Street is just one of many projects being developed by HM Land Registry as part of the organisation’s Business Strategy. The organisation is exploring a number of potential services to make the buying, renting, selling, financing, building and managing property easier.

The first digital mortgage was signed in April using HM Land Registry’s ‘Sign your mortgage deed’ service. The initial mortgages have signed by customers of Coventry Building Society and Enact Conveyancing, HM Land Registry is now actively expanding the number of lenders and conveyancers who are using the service.

The recently launched Local Land Charge Register brings data from 326 local authorities to a central database, removing the need for manual searches in overworked local offices and removing weeks of potential delays from each sale.

Homebuyers can use the ‘Find property information’ service to quickly find information about properties they are interested in at the start of the transaction, rather than waiting until an offer has been accepted.

Working in collaboration with key stakeholders from across the industry, including property technology (PropTech) specialists, data experts, conveyancers, property developers, mortgage lenders and others, over the coming years HM Land Registry will be exploring innovative uses of technology.

Methods

Methods is the leading digital transformation partner for the UK public sector. We bring innovation, bespoke development, and service management capability to align UK public services around citizens and safeguard them for future generations.

R3

R3 is an enterprise blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of more than 200 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, its open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, a commercial version of Corda for enterprise usage.

R3’s global team of over 180 professionals in 13 countries is supported by over 2,000 technology, financial, and legal experts drawn from its global member base. R3 is backed by investment of over $120 million from more than 45 firms.

The Corda platform is already being used in industries from financial services to healthcare, shipping, insurance and more. It records, manages and executes institutions’ financial agreements in perfect synchrony with their peers, creating a world of frictionless commerce.

Persistent Systems

Persistent Systems, a $470 million listed company, builds software that drives the business of our customers; enterprises and software product companies with software at the core of their digital transformation.

Blockchain Digital

Blockchain Digital is the leading business process innovation and service design consultancy, focused on the application of blockchain in the public sector and enterprise.

Contact

Press Office

Trafalgar House
1 Bedford Park
Croydon
CR0 2AQ

Email HMLRPressOffice@landregistry.gov.uk
Phone (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm)
0300 006 3349 or 0300 006 7543
Mobile (6pm to 8.30am, all weekend and public holidays
)07864 689 344

It hasn’t been long since we offered the Dutch government a blockchain based solution for the border control issue, as we believe that introducing real world use cases is the way towards mainstream adoption of blockchain technology.In March 2018, Essentia attended four meetings with representatives of the Finnish MTK organization, discussing possible ways of utilizing the Essentia framework.

As a result, after a month of brainstorming and discussions, it was agreed that Essentia would become the first blockchain startup to help the Finnish organization in its key objective of reducing the unemployment rate.The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) has announced its readiness to become Finland’s first organization to launch a blockchain based e-government solution.

“In blockchain, we see a number of features which could lend themselves well to the needs of entrepreneurs and citizens in the countryside as well as in the cities,” — MTK’s director of business development Marko Mäki-Hakola.

Combining with the ToitaSuomesta.fi employment service developed by CoReorient Oy, Essentia will be used by employment offices, employers and suchlike as a platform for managed employment in the local community.There are many ways in which Essentia could be useful for MTK.

Let us go through all of them.First of all, any worker can save certificates of their performed jobs to the Essentia platform and allow their future employers and employment office to view these. This way we can ensure easier and safer cooperation.

The employer can view and also add a job certificate(s) even if they are not a user of the ToitaSuomesta work mediation service. This option grants security and is actually a real time-saver both for employers and employees. Last but not least, employment offices can view the progress of the employee across all work mediation services and confirm that he/she fulfills benefits criteria.

From now on it won’t be necessary to share an individual’s entire job records between services and there will also be no need for a new database at the employment office. MTK, whose members hail from various regional and local organizations, believe that this is only the start of real life testing for MTK’s main interest lies in other areas.

One of them is managing and sharing machine-generated data from tractors, dairy, and other equipment. They are also tracking production chains, for example, forest side products from the owner to the refinery, or end-user land registries that will no longer need field sizes regularly updated; the future possibilities for blockchain technology are endless.

The Essentia framework provides the much-needed security in accessing sensitive data, as well as granting full control of the user’s private information and their digital identity in general.We look forward to working together with the Finnish organization and moving a step closer to the idea we believe in.

This is not the end, though, as we will continue searching for the best ways to utilize blockchain technology and Essentia in particular in various spheres of our day-to-day life.

Stay tuned for more information concerning the pilot implementation!Seeking more information? Our website and the Essentia Telegram will do the trick.


This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

The ORS GROUP explains to us their expertise in delivering sophisticated AI-based optimisation software solutions to a large international client base, including how AI & blockchain will empower 1 billion entrepreneurs by 2040

In its simplest terms, a blockchain is a new means of structuring and distributing data. The technology enables financial companies and other institutions to create a digital ledger guarded by cryptography, which can be shared among participants during transactions.

This allows authorised participants to alter the ledger without awaiting approval from a central authority, often resulting in faster and more secure transaction that saves financial institutions time and money.

Since the mysterious origins of Bitcoin in 2009, numerous cryptocurrencies have been thrust upon the marketplace, allowing transactions to take place directly between users and can be exchanged – as regular currency can be – for goods and services.

So why is there such on-going hype around cryptocurrency and is it masking the power behind blockchain technology?

This year has commenced with a lot of turmoil in the cryptocurrency world. However, that has been necessary to preserve the long-term health of the market. Bitcoin is already amidst the throw of a turbulent year, with the recent ban on cryptocurrency advertising from the world’s biggest search engine Google and social media platform Facebook to proceed in June 2018.

There are also rumours that Twitter will soon follow suit. Despite the industry currently in overdrive, key observers of the blockchain say the technology is bound to not only survive but thrive.

The general outlook for blockchain in 2018 looks to be increasingly positive: Fiat service provider, Robinhood, of which over 1 million people have signed up for, announced their zero-fee crypto trading on February 22nd; March 15th saw the official release of Lightning Network’s first beta implementation for the Bitcoin mainnet, securing $2.5 million in seed funding; and one of the most important Polish cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitbay, has decided to add support for Ripple (XRP) and Infinity Economics Token (XIN), impulsing the internet of things (IoT) to the mass market. It is clear that the production of mass-market-focused products will finally be launching this year, making it a lot easier for the wider public to start building on and using the blockchain.

What does this imply about the future of work?

As widely proposed in recent news, the future is autonomous. We are already moving towards a workforce that could be purely operated with the combined use of artificial technology and robotics. The study of 46 countries and 800 occupations by the McKinsey Global Institute found that up to one-fifth of the global workforce will be affected by robot automation. 

According to the report, 39 to 73 million jobs may be eliminated by 2030 in the US alone, but about 20 million of those displaced workers may be able to easily transfer to other industries.But what if there was a way that the inevitable influx of automated workforces didn’t have to affect the world’s rate of human employability? What if there was a solution that could effectively convert the masses into fully equipped entrepreneurs, by applying one straightforward concept?

Meet the man on a mission to change the world, one entrepreneur at a time

President and Executive Chairman of ORS GROUP, a leading Artificial Intelligence software company, Fabio Zoffi is on an incredible mission to empower 1 billion small entrepreneurs by the year 2040.In the words of Fabio Zoffi: “The future doesn’t have to be dystopian.

”How will he do it?

By making the algorithms his company currently uses for the world’s largest companies (which until now have been extremely protected) available to small businesses and entrepreneurs by connecting them with the blockchain technology.

ORS GROUP’s innovative new concept of Hypersmart Contracts will provide the mechanism by which they will do this: connecting Artificial Intelligence and blockchain together to make use of big data and powerful algorithms for turning businesses of all sizes highly competitive on a global scale.

President Zoffi says: “We are creating a global community of like-minded developers, entrepreneurs and crypto enthusiasts, who want to embrace the new digital alphabet “ABC – AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency”, to create and successfully run a business in almost every possible industry sector.”

The power of algorithms

Founded in Italy, ORS GROUP is a leading global supplier of cross-industry software solutions for optimising and automating business processes. For over 20 years the company has delivered sophisticated solutions using proprietary Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics algorithms.ORS GROUP’s large international client base includes that of Fortune 2000 enterprises and span industries including retail, energy, finance and manufacturing. ORS GROUP’s software solutions save their clients over $1 billion yearly.

Small entrepreneurs’ new digital alphabet empowering a global decentralised network – it’s easy as ABC

Imagine the possibility of a future decentralised network of small companies on a planetary scale, empowered by technologies which enable the “little guy” to put their big ideas into action and to be competitive against the “big boys”. For example:

A farmer living in a small village in Southeast Asia, running a family business that has carried on for generations.

In light of increasing competitive pressure from global farming companies and distributors, the farmer is now struggling to make the necessary business decisions needed to survive and thrive in his industry.

Thanks to ORS GROUP’s new digital alphabet, he would be given the power to successfully compete and grow his business:

Hypersmart contracts can act as intelligent connectors, which activate AI algorithms (off-chain) to solve complex efficiency/optimisation problems utilising data stored on-chain. They can also release instant crypto payments. Together, these technologies can lead to significant improvements in global value chains, which even small farmers can benefit from.

For example, algorithms can be used to predict crop yields and for dynamic price optimisation, blockchain can be used for providing transparency about the whole food chain and cryptocurrency used for receiving immediate payments. As an end result, small farmers can regain negotiating powers against distributors and compete globally.

Individual entrepreneurs will become empowered once they are provided with the technology to educate themselves, resulting in the establishment and growth of fully optimised and successful businesses.

ORS GROUP continues to dedicate itself to ensure that any entrepreneur with a dream will be able to compete on a global scale and in an autonomous world.

Please note: this is a commercial profile Fabio ZOFFI
President and Executive Chairman
ORS SA
info@orsgroup.io
orsgroup.io
ORS SA Twitter @ORS_Fabio
Dr. Zoffi Twitter @ORS_ICO

Gibraltar becomes first jurisdiction to regulate blockchain technology such as Ethereum and Bitcoin

    Gibraltar has made a groundbreaking step towards the future of our global financial markets the government has been working with Ellul & Co to become the first jurisdiction to regulate blockchain technology also known as Distributed Ledger Technology.

Trent Challis, who is an independent advisor on cryptocurrency had this to say on the new regulations: “I am delighted that Gibraltar has taken it upon themselves to show the world what necessary steps should be taken towards adopting Distributed Ledger Technology in a safe and meaningful way.


GIBRALTER (PRWEB) OCTOBER 15, 20

With the demand for cryptocurrencies heating up worldwide, Gibraltar has made a groundbreaking step towards the future of our global financial markets. Ahead of all other countries, Gibraltar is the first to lay out a complete set of regulations for all forms of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). These laws will come into effect from the 1st January 2018.


The news may come as a surprise to many who have been closely following the developments in other, larger nations, which are more dominant in the cryptocurrencies markets. However, by working closely with Ellul & Co Law Firm, Gibraltar will be setting the standard for other countries which need to take note and speed up their actions. 


Having only recently been announced, it is as of yet unclear as to how this move will shake up the DLT industry, but no doubts investors will see Gibraltar as a tantalising place to move some of their operations. DLT markets offer numerous benefits and exciting investment opportunities, but without regulation in place, criminal activity still plays an unwanted role. 

To see examples of the dangers of unregulated crypto markets, one needs to look no further than BTC-e which, in the six years it was active, was responsible for laundering more than $4 billion in cash. 38 year old Alexander Vinnik is still under custody regarding his actions, which have brought about a great deal of unwanted bad press surrounding DLT. Vinnik is certainly not the first to use Blockchain technology for illegal means and, without suitable global regulations, he will almost undoubtedly not be the last to do so. 


These new regulations will affect all areas of Blockchain, and, as such, all individuals and companies who utilise DLT to store and transfer values which belong to others. Blockchain technology is the very system upon which cryptocurrencies are based, and by regulating all individuals and companies using them, it sets the path for a far safer financial system for all parties. The Gibraltar Government, alongside the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, has laid out nine principles that must be adhered to by all DLT firms.


Amongst other things, these nine principles outline a need to protect customer assets, ensure the highest possible security protocol at all times, have suitable solvency plans in place to protect investors and customers, ensure proper protocol to protect against money laundering and other criminal activities.

The Gibraltar authorities are well aware of the rapid change and expansion of DLT firms and so will review them all on a case-by-case basis. What this means is that, if they deem it necessary that certain businesses carry unique risks or threats, then the regulations placed upon them can be different to other firms. 


It should be noted that not only do these new regulations help benefit consumers, but they also play a crucial role in helping businesses prosper and flourish. Clear rules and guidelines remove any unwanted “grey areas” of legal activity and allow them to operate in confidence that they are obeying the law. It also allows them to compete with one another within the confines of the law and avoid being outmanoeuvred by firms operating illegal practices. 

Beyond setting up teams responsible for monitoring DLT firms, local authorities have also established an “Innovate and Create Team”. This team is there to discuss new financial business ideas and offer feedback and support in setting up in Gibraltar. This move is another great way to secure budding business growth at an early stage ahead of competing nations.

Trent Challis, who has is an independent advisor on cryptocurrency had this to say on the new regulations:


“I am delighted that Gibraltar has taken it upon themselves to show the world what necessary steps should be taken towards adopting Distributed Ledger Technology in a safe and meaningful way. By taking these pioneering first steps, it is our hope that other nations follow suit and innovate in much the same way.”Cryptocurrencies offer an exciting new future for the way in which the world carries out transactions, and you only need to look at the soaring value of Bitcoin to see the incredibly high demand that currently exists.


However, countries like South Korea, Russia and China seem to be taking steps to further restrict their use, rather than incorporate them and accepting change. Experts who understand these markets have warned that such measures will do little to reduce illegal activity, but instead increase it, as firms have little legal guidelines in which to operate. 


It is likely that, following this very recent announcement, nations like those listed above may be quick to review their plans. For now, however, Gibraltar offers the most exciting opportunity for new financially-savvy enterprises and it is likely that the “Innovate and Create Team” will have their work cut out for them in the months to come.

Source: PRWEB : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/10/prweb14802562.htm

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Monash University, one of Australia's leading universities, opened its joint blockchain cryptocurrency research and development lab at Monash’s Clayton campus with a node at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

This multimillion-dollar venture was funded by Collinstar Capital, an Australian asset management company and a market leader in Fintech, specializing in blockchain infrastructure, digital currency investments, and relevant consulting services.

The lab will focus on developing cryptographic technologies that will enhance and strengthen the Hcash blockchain.

“The blockchain technology used to develop Hcash is superior to that of the Bitcoin technology”

The Hcash project is one of the most advanced blockchains that took advantage of many technological breakthroughs that were not available to early blockchain developers.

The main mechanism behind Hcash is a distributed ledger that connects block-based and blockless-based Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) systems, allowing ledger assets and information to be transferred between multiple cryptocurrencies.

It has also adopted a hybrid Proof-of-Work (PoW) + Proof-of-Stake (PoS) for securing, governing and upgrading the network. As a result, Hcash is able to apply a more open governance model, where stakeholders have more input in the future direction of the protocol.

In addition, Hcash transactions and smart contracts can be conducted with an extra layer of cryptographic protection, affording its users enhanced privacy.

This is made possible by implementing a technology called zk-SNARKs, a novel form of zero-knowledge cryptography that allows fully encrypted transactions to verified as valid under the network’s consensus rules using zk-SNARK proofs.

“The blockchain technology used to develop Hcash is superior to that of the Bitcoin technology,” said Dr. Joseph Liu from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology, “We aim to make Hcash a connecting point for all existing blockchain systems, potentially allowing Hcash to function as a virtual cryptocurrency exchange.

Up until now, existing cryptocurrencies could only be exchanged within their own systems.”“I am delighted that Dr. Joseph Liu’s work has been recognized.

It is a testament to the wonderful young researchers we have in the Faculty of IT at Monash University who are leading the way in disrupting almost every industrial sector through new digital technologies,” said John Whittle, Dean Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University.

About HcashHcash, a "New Standard of Value", is a prominent open blockchain / cryptocurrency that is currently number 23 on the cryptocurrencies worldwide chart with a coin market cap of $253,285,351.

Contacts

Hcash
Gary Liu
media@unifiveusa.com

NECKER ISLAND, British Virgin Islands, July 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Identity Network (WIN) has been launched today during the Blockchain Summit organized on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island.

The key objective of this global initiative is to catalyze progress towards universal ID and robust, secure, digital identification systems using 21st century technology solutions, such as the distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The initiative will be led by Mariana Dahan, former World Bank official and a prominent figure in the digital identity ecosystem. Dahan was the driving force behind the Identification for Development (ID4D) agenda – a global program she initiated that is now broadly embraced by the international donor community.

The United Nations Executive Director / Under-Secretary General, UNOPS Grete Faremo, commended WIN:

"The international community has yet to fully explore blockchain technology. Quite simply the potential is immense – more transparency and greater efficiency could deliver real benefits to billions of people.

So at UNOPS we are proud to support global initiatives like WIN aiming to bring these benefits to countries across the world, to improve the lives of individuals, families and communities."    

"In this fast-paced environment, WIN has a critical contribution to make to promote cutting-edge knowledge on identity management and leverage the potential of new technologies, such as the blockchain," said Carlos Santiso, Head of the Innovation for Citizen Services Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

A number of developing nations in Latin America region, and elsewhere, have already expressed interest in accessing WIN's advisory services and technical assistance. 

Technology-agnostic and a neutral knowledge broker, WIN is working across the DLT spectrum, partnering with technology companies that do not only operate on the Bitcoin Blockchain but also use Ethereum and other open-source platforms, helping decision-makers to choose a solution that fits best their needs.

To this end, the company is set to collaborate with the BitFury Group, ConsenSys uPort, IOTA, the Sovrin Foundation and the Secure Identity Alliance members.

“Blockchain creates a breakthrough opportunity for digital identity,” said David Treat, a managing director in Accenture’s blockchain business. “It has the unique ability to give individuals control over their personal information.

Organizations like WIN play an important part in enabling the public and private sectors to work together to create high impact solutions with new technologies. We are very pleased to support and contribute to these efforts.”

"The Secure Identity Alliance welcomes this new initiative and is looking forward to collaboration to explore the potential of the distributed ledger technology for inclusive development," stated Jean-Claude Perrin, Vice-President of Strategy at Gemalto.

"We too share WIN's mission to bring the world a secure universal digital identity solution and are excited to partner towards building the expertise needed to make blockchain identity a reality for everyone," said Rouven Heck, Co-Founder and Project Lead at ConsenSys uPort."

By coupling the experience of international programmes on rolling out electronic identity - like eIDAS in the EU countries - with innovative technologies like blockchain, WIN has the potential to be a game changer in the area," said Andrea Servida, leading the eGovernment & Trust Unit in DG CONNECT at the European Commission.

"The Blockchain Summit on Necker Island is a very special venue for innovative projects to emerge. The BitFury Group is supportive of WIN mission and strongly believes in the power of the blockchain technology to change the world," said Valery Vavilov, CEO of BitFury Group and co-host of the Blockchain Summit.

About the Blockchain Summit 
https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/necker-blockchain-summit

About World Identity Network
For more information, please visit www.win.systems

Media contact:
Mariana Dahan
World Identity Network Co-founder & CEO
mdahan@win.systems

Continue reading: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-identity-network-launched-on-sir-richard-bransons-neck...