The Ministry of Justice in Georgia has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the public blockchain network Hedera, exploring the possibility of moving the country’s land registry onchain and tokenizing real estate.
As per a Monday announcement from the Georgian Ministry of Justice, the government has signed an MoU with Hedera, a public blockchain that executes permissioned node operations. During a meeting between Minister of Justice Paata Salia and a representative from Hedera, both parties discussed the potential incorporation of blockchain technology into public infrastructure.
Officials in Georgia mentioned their intention to transfer data from the National Agency of Public Registry to the blockchain network, aiming to enhance property rights protection, increase transparency, and improve reliability in processes.
They are also looking into the tokenization of real estate, mirroring efforts found in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization projects.
At this stage, the agreement is a nonbinding MoU. The subsequent phase would involve establishing joint working groups with experts from the Ministry of Justice and the National Agency of Public Registry, as detailed in the announcement.
Related: How governments utilize blockchain for public services
Georgia’s Ongoing Blockchain Efforts
Georgia has been an advocate of blockchain technology within government for some time. In February 2017, the Georgian government signed an agreement to leverage the Bitcoin blockchain for verifying property transactions. By late April of that year, reports indicated that over 100,000 property records had been registered onchain.
The momentum for adopting blockchain in governance continues. Approximately a year ago, the United National Movement coalition collaborated with Rarilabs to introduce a new blockchain solution for public administration. Various political and technical initiatives have sought to broaden blockchain application in public administration, although not every initiative has garnered support from the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Related: Tether signs MoU with Georgia for Bitcoin P2P infrastructure development
In June 2024, Natia Turnava, the acting governor of the central bank of Georgia, along with Varlam Ebanoidze, head of the financial and supervisory technology development department, met with Ripple executive James Wallis to explore collaboration opportunities for digitizing the Georgian economy.
This meeting came after reports in early November 2023 indicating that the central bank had selected blockchain payments network Ripple Labs as its official partner for technology to support the development of its central bank digital currency, following the bank’s earlier announcement about a limited-access pilot for its CBDC.
Magazine: Crypto is utilized for payments in Georgia, rather than for wealth accumulation: Tbilisi Crypto City Guide
