PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
January 2020
7
Hyperledger
One of the main problems of implementing Blockchain tech-
nology is that standardization does not occur. A standard has
not been established because many different software groups
construct the systems differently. In order to solve this prob-
lem, an open source community called Hyperledger was es-
tablished. Large technology companies like IBM, Cisco, Fu-
jitsu as well as financial institutions such as Morgan and
Accenture were involved in this community (“Hyperledger,”
2018). In July 2017, Hyperledger Fabric 1.0 was released. In
February 2018, Hyperledger Sawtooth 1.0 was released. The
Hyperledger community aims to create a mature version af-
ter receiving users’ feedback on these different versions.
REPRESENTATIVE
EXAMPLES
The advantages of Blockchain such
as enhanced security, speed, trans-
parency, and agentless processing are
attractive for application developers.
Companies can use their own plat-
forms for the applications they want
or use platforms such as Ethereum
and Hyperledger. Blockchain applica-
tions are preferred in many areas in
order to obtain more transparent and
highly secured processes at reduced
cost by the removal of intermediar-
ies. Geographic information system
applications are one of these areas.
Ylii-Huumo points out that it is possible to work on smart
property blockchains, and emphasizes that they have iden-
tified prototype applications (Yli-Huumo et al., 2016). Land
registration information, boundary violation detection, and
food tracking applications are examples.
Land Registry
A land registration system is one of the areas where Block-
chain can be considered as a potential star candidate. Ylii
Huumo emphasizes the impact of increasing Blockchain re-
search on the development of the system and uses a decen-
tralized database to illustrate the idea that companies can
sell their properties in a virtual environment, which may rep-
resent a revolutionary solution (Yli-Huumo et al., 2016). Car-
rying out land registration procedures through a Blockchain
will help to reduce or eliminate the intermediaries and pro-
vide a safe and transparent way of conducting transactions.
In a similar approach, Lamieux argues that Blockchain is
a new technology with the potential to radically change the
registration of land and real property transactions. The au-
thor emphasized applications using Blockchain technology in
Brazil, Georgia, Ghana, India, Japan, and Sweden (Lemieux,
2017). The application is being implemented as a pilot but
it is envisaged that the number of full-time transitions will
increase.
Spielman argues that the Blockchain land registration
system is the future of land registration, and its advantages
will be evident over the current land registry system. Land
registration through Blockchain can increase processing effi-
ciency, prevent fraud in property exchange, add security lev-
els, accountability and transparency, and lower sensitivity to
natural or man-made disasters (Spielman, 2016). The basic
workflow of Blockchain based land registry systems is shown
on Fig 1.
Even with these advantages, some issues need to be clar-
ified before a land registration system is built using Block-
chain. Documents provided through the system should con-
tain legal evidence in the case of dispute, ensuring that the
system is accurate. . At this point, issues such as how to
transfer old records into the system and how to manage legis-
lation through the system should also be clarified. Otherwise,
the applicability of the system will be low (Lemieux, 2017).
When we look at examples of land registry, we see that ap-
plications in Brazil, Honduras, and Sweden come to the fore-
front. Factom, a US-based Blockchain technology company,
has developed a Blockchain based land registration solution
for Honduras. Honduras’ application was the first one using
Blockchain technology for land registration. Much of the data
collected between November 2015 and January 2016 was
found in whitepapers. Honduras wanted to switch to a Block-
chain-based system was due to the irregularities in the land
registration process. The Honduran government aimed at re-
forming the system by enacting a number of laws to prevent
Figure 1. Basic Work Flow of Blockchain Land Registry Systems (eSatya, 2019).
