SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medici Land Governance (MLG) has partnered with the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) to develop a proof of concept for the use of blockchain technology to detect and reduce deed fraud in New York City. The project will explore the possibility of using blockchain or a decentralized digital ledger as a vehicle to record property documents to ensure that the target data is transparent and immutable. Applying blockchain technologies to New York City’s land records has the potential to improve business processes, reduce risk, and help to address deed fraud.
“We are elated to join New York City officials in assisting their efforts to enhance the security and quality of their services in the heart of the nation’s largest metropolitan area,” says Ali El Husseini, PhD, CEO of Medici Land Governance. “We also appreciate the Department of Finance’s generous acknowledgment and confidence in our capabilities to demonstrate the value, feasibility, and assurances of blockchain technologies and their most effective, efficient use to fight deed fraud.”
“Leveraging technology to improve our business processes is intrinsic to our strategic goal of providing quality service delivery. Blockchain technology has the potential to revamp how property documents are recorded in New York City and help prevent deed fraud,” says Department of Finance Commissioner Sherif Soliman. “We look forward to working with Medici Land Governance to evaluate this innovative approach.”
New York City property documents dating back to 1966 are recorded and maintained using the Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), which will continue to be the official repository of such documents during the proof of concept. As part of the proof of concept, MLG will provide a parallel service that will simulate the hypothetical recording of 500,000 records on the blockchain. MLG will then display the recorded blockchain records in a Department of Finance-specific user interface to test for accuracy. By exploring the use of blockchain for recording property documents, MLG and DOF will establish a potential foundation for broader blockchain-based interventions in New York City.
The project will demonstrate how to improve security, specifically by reducing the chance of intentional and possibly unnoticed fraud, reducing potential attack vectors, and increasing transparency. The proof of concept, if successful, could lead to a pilot project which will provide in-depth discovery, prototyping, and user testing of operational efficiency improvements for current business processes and solutions for the prevention of deed fraud.
MLG’s public records product, Actum, is a universal archive of public records backed by blockchain. Actum uses blockchain technology to provide secure, tamper-proof, immutable public records that are searchable, transparent, and trusted.
About Medici Land Governance
Medici Land Governance leverages blockchain and other technologies (such as cryptography, AI and others) to support land governance, titling, and administration with a secure public record of land ownership. With land records stored on the blockchain, land ownership is standardized and can be recognized by local and global economies. Medici Land Governance supports agencies in the digitization of their current records, engendering trust and security in data by diminishing human error and accidental damage to records.
About the New York City Department of Finance
The mission of the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is to administer the tax and revenue laws of the City of New York fairly, efficiently, and transparently to instill public confidence and encourage compliance while providing exceptional customer service. DOF is responsible for the collection of more than $40 billion annually in revenue for the City and the valuation of over one million properties worth a total of more than $1 trillion. DOF records property-related documents, administers property tax exemption and abatement programs, assists New Yorkers with tax payment issues through the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, adjudicates parking tickets, administers the City’s bank accounts, manages its cash flows, and administers its business and excise taxes.
