Blockchain Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Blockchain Technology (Part 7)

REGTECH

The use of technology to comply with regulatory requirements has been prevalent for decades. With the costs of regulatory compliances increasing to prevent hacks, frauds, and mismanagement, many companies have turned to RegTech industry solutions, which, in turn, are exploring Blockchain technology to provide better, secure, and more cost-efficient solutions. The companies are still burdened with slow and traditional processes for regulatory and administrative purposes. These processes need burdensome paperwork that needs to be processed and worked on by various internal and external stakeholders. But Blockchain forces switch to digital and auditable workflows. By combining the digital capabilities of blockchain and cloud hosting, companies will steadily phase out traditional paperwork and other antiquated processes.

This shift towards a cloud-enabled Blockchain solution would help the stakeholders to store, track, and retrieve data efficiently. The businesses associated with the financial and supply-chain industry would massively benefit from it. By utilizing a private blockchain, a company will own the entirety of information involving a deal. Subsequently, the investment bank on the transaction will have a consolidated location to find, in real-time, ownership of key files. At the same time, using Blockchain for document tracking will streamline deals and allow for the necessary level of transparency for regulatory compliance.[1]

To add to the list of benefits, Blockchain, by its very nature secure and hence would lead to enhanced security. It is because the hacker would have to hack a countless number of machines to gain a tiny bit of information and put it together. Blockchain also ensures that even if one node fails, the key data is secure else-where. Because data is encrypted with cryptography, it is infeasible to decrypt the data without the private (or secret) key.

In the future, RegTech companies will incorporate analytics and algorithms on the blockchain solution to remodel the regulatory space. The technology would also be leveraged for the identity verification, along with the incorporation of Artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer compliances.

The tokenization of assets in the fund sector is another great example of the application of blockchain technology. The use of smart contracts presents an invaluable advantage due to the effects of automation, but at the same time covers important bases for regulatory reporting as well as the compliance of the regulatory obligations of a fund in real-time.[2]

[1] asiablockchainreview.com/the-rise-of-blockchain-in-the-regtech-industry/ [2] planetcompliance.com/2020/03/05/the-application-of-blockchain-technology-in-the-regtech-sector/

IDENTITY

A blockchain enables everyone in the network to have the same source of truth about which credentials are valid and who attested to the validity of the data inside the credential without revealing the actual data.[1] This is called ‘identity management’ on a Blockchain.

When talking about leveraging blockchain technology for identity management, it’s important to note that there are three different actors in play: identity owners, identity issuers, and identity verifiers.

The identity issuer, a trusted party such as local government, can issue personal credentials for an identity owner (the user). By issuing a credential, the identity issuer attests to the validity of the personal data in that credential (e.g., last name and date of birth). The identity owner can store those credentials in their personal identity wallet and use them later to prove statements about his or her identity to a third party (the verifier).

A Credential is a set of multiple identity attributes, and an identity attribute is a piece of information about an identity (a name, an age, a date of birth).

Credentials are issued by second parties who attest to the validity of the data inside the credential. The usefulness and reliability of a credential entirely depend on the reputation/trustworthiness of the issuer.

Through the infrastructure of a blockchain, the verifying parties do not need to check the validity of the actual data in the provided proof. Still, they can instead use the blockchain to check the validity of the attestation and attesting party (such as the government) from which they can determine whether to validate the proof.

For example, when an identity owner presents proof of their date-of-birth, rather than checking the truth of the date of birth itself, the verifying party will validate the government’s signature who issued and attested to this credential to decide then whether he trusts the government’s assessment about the accuracy of the data.

Hence, the validation of proof is based on the verifier’s judgment of the reliability of the attestor.[2]

You can check out the Tykn project at https://tykn.tech/ to learn more about identity management and how it is done.

[1] https://tykn.tech/identity-management-blockchain/#:~:text=A%20Blockchain%20based%20Identity%20Management,without%20revealing%20the%20actual%20data. [2] https://tykn.tech/identity-management-blockchain/#:~:text=A%20Blockchain%20based%20Identity%20Management,without%20revealing%20the%20actual%20data.

HEALTHCARE

Benefits of Blockchain in Healthcare

Medical processes can be formulated into a step by step process and the insignificant information eliminated by maintaining electronic health records.

· Easier access to manager records in digital format

· A more secure platform for crucial information

· Digital records not freely accessible like hard copies

1. MONITORING

Only individuals with proper authorization from patients can access medical records. It also eases the issue of constant management of various documents by increasing transparency and saving time.

2. COLLABORATIONS

Various parties can collaborate, i.e., manage and sync information, through the distributed ledger technology.

3. DATA PROTECTION

Implementation of Blockchain can be of great help in an industry that requires safeguarding various documents and information. Only authorized users can access the information and data stored.

The securing of important information leads to an overall improvement in the system.

4. SIMPLIFYING THE PROCESS

Complex processes and transactions can be simplified.

5. DATA PROVENANCE AND INTEGRITY

A regular increase in the number of patients globally has led to a constant rise in data volume and, in turn, keeping the healthcare professionals committed to managing the increased data daily. In such a scenario, blockchain technology shall make it easier for healthcare facilities to process and store information.

Any piece of information stored and encrypted in blockchain cannot be changed or removed. One approach of the blockchain technology is to anchor data to a public blockchain. It permits us to safely record and share data. It also allows any user to verify the time-stamp of data stored with the aid of proof of data integrity, which public blockchain generates. The said method allows the participants to:

· Verify Protected Health Information (PHI) integrity

· Perform unalterable medical inspection

· Prove and enhance the integrity of medical records

· Decrease data maintenance costs

· Ensure regulatory compliance

KYC

Banks lose a lot of money in their KYC regulations. The main problems with respect to the same are as follows:

· The regulations are always changing.

· The banks still follow old-age methods of verification which involves a lot of paperwork.

KYC can be implemented in two ways. Firstly, there is a concept of ‘Self-Sovereign Identity’ (which means that all the individuals have the moral right to have ownership over their body and life.) Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) is critical now, more than ever, because every company and entity has an online presence. Having so many siloed identities greatly increases the chances of online fraud or identity mismanagement. By having your identity on the blockchain, a person will have complete control. By doing so, when you go to a bank to open a bank account, the bank can simply ask for your access to the identity instead of a centralized third-party.

Secondly, the banks could become part of their own private and permission blockchain network. Now suppose a person has completed the KYC process with one bank, the bank could simply upload the details of the KYC on the blockchain. Since no central repository owns the blockchain, anyone, who is the part of the network, would be able to upload information, and the information could be shared with everyone else. Suppose you want to open another bank account with another bank, the bank could simply access the data on the blockchain without going through the whole KYC process.

The blockchain’s KYC protocol can help in both intra-bank and inter-bank functions:

· Intra-Bank: Another branch of the same bank can use the KYC which has been performed by the bank. This leads to a smooth transference of services.

· InterBank: The KYC performed by one bank can be used easily by another bank.

To know more about KYC, go to https://www.devteam.space/blog/why-is-blockchain-a-good-solution-for-kyc-verification/

CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS

Cross border payments are one of the biggest problems in the banking sector today. An average internal bank to bank transfer can take up to five days. This is an issue considering how many people are working from remote locations.

If you have ever done any freelance work, then you would know how long SWIFT transfers can take if you are doing bank-to-bank transfer. Worse than that is if you get paid via PayPal. If your company sends your payment on Friday, then you may have to wait till Tuesday just to get paid, because these financial institutes are always closed on weekends.

The reason it takes so long to transfer the money through the traditional means due to the involvement of intermediaries who transfer the money in batches.

With blockchain, the settlement is under-optimized, which leads to the elimination of intermediaries saving both time and money. These transactions can be settled almost instantly.

In one of the first attempts, SAP collaborated with ATB Financial, and fintech start-up Ripple to send the first international blockchain payment from Alberta, Canada to ReiseBank in Germany. The bank used the SAP HANA Cloud Platform and the SAP Payment Engine application to take advantage of Ripple’s pioneering blockchain network. The CAD 1000 (€667) blockchain payment, which would typically have taken from two to six business days to process, was completed in about 20 seconds. The proof of concept has since been enhanced, and the transactions can be completed in just 10 seconds.[1]

Even the tech giant Infosys is working on developing a blockchain-based solution. The whitepaper can be accessed here: https://www.infosys.com/industries/cards-and-payments/resources/Documents/cross-border-money-transfer.pdf

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

As can be seen through the figure above, a mechanism to make the contracts enforceable through a simple dispute resolution mechanism using the blockchain technology could be developed. The problems posed by the Contracts entered today are as follows:

· The Contracts are still physically signed, and digital signatures are still inaccessible to most.

· The Contracts are costly and there is no mechanism for the contracts to be made.

· The burden of proof when a dispute happens lies on the party which has not breached the contract.

· The legal documentation in many of the Contracts is hard to track.

The solution is as follows:

• Shipment needs to be delivered from the USA to China.

• Smart contact on jurisNode will record the movement of goods from factory to shipping agent to custom officers to a warehouse, automatically generating relevant documents.

• If there are no problems, payments are made automatically.

• If issues occur, dispute resolution comes into play.

It would be resolved technically and efficiently by independent technically competent arbitrators, and the national courts could enforce these awards. This makes the party which is probably in the wrong to go and challenge the arbitral award in the Court, and the party who is probably right enjoys the benefit of the speedy process.

The uses of this technology are as follows:

• Guarantee-Warranty obligations

• Curb Benami transactions

• Storing wills and testamentary documents

• Record keeping

• Crowdfunding

• Using digital signatures at all aspects of online transactions

• Insurance industry

• Warranty guarantee

• Leasing, Mortgage

• Transferring assets

• Efficient and easier arbitration

• Facilitating easy Mergers & Acquisitions, implementation in PE and VC

• APIs which will help businesses be the part of our network in future etc

IPR

There are various potential hurdles to a large-scale legal application (including questions of governing laws and jurisdictions, data security, and privacy concerns). Despite this, in the context of IP-heavy industries, blockchain, and related distributed ledger technology offer distinct possibilities for IP protection and registration and as evidence, either at the registry stage or in Court. It also promises a cost-effective way to speed up such processes. Potential use cases include: evidence of creatorship and provenance authentication, registering and clearing IP rights; controlling and tracking the distribution of (un)registered IP; providing evidence of genuine and/or first use in trade and/or commerce; digital rights management (e.g., online music sites); establishing and enforcing IP agreements, licenses or exclusive distribution networks through smart contracts; and transmitting payments in real-time to IP owners. Blockchain may also be used for authentication and provenance purposes in the detection and/or retrieval of counterfeit, stolen, and parallel-imported goods.

The potential to use blockchain technology for the management of IP rights is vast. Recording IP rights in a distributed ledger rather than a traditional database could effectively turn them into “smart IP rights.”

Related is the idea of IP offices using distributed ledger technology to create “smart IP registries” in the form of a centralized solution run by the IP office as an accountable authority, which would create an immutable record of events in the life of a registered IP right. It could include when a trademark was first applied for, registered, first used in trade; when a design, trademark, or patent was licensed, assigned, and so on. It would also resolve the practicalities of collating, storing, and providing such evidence.

The ability to track the entire life cycle of a right would have many benefits, including smoother IP rights audits. It could also simplify the due diligence exercises that are necessary for IP transactions, for example, in mergers and acquisitions. An opt-in scheme could address confidentiality concerns on the side of the IP owners.

Evidence of use of IP rights

A ledger showing who owns what offers brand owners a potential reference point for their rights and idea of the extent those rights are used within the market. This could be particularly helpful in those jurisdictions where proof of first or genuine use is required or where the extent of use is crucial, such as in disputes or other proceedings involving the recognition of well-known marks, or in defending a non-use revocation action. By way of example, collecting information on the use of a trademark in trade or commerce on a blockchain-based official trademark register would allow the relevant IP office to be notified virtually immediately. This would result in reliable and time-stamped evidence of actual use and frequency of use of a trademark in trade, both of which are relevant in proving first use, genuine use, acquired distinctiveness/secondary meaning, or goodwill in a trademark. Similarly, distributed ledger technology could be used to publish technologies for defensive publication as prior art to prevent others from obtaining a patent over such technologies.

Evidence of creatorship

Blockchain technology can also play an essential role within the context of unregistered IP rights such as copyright (which in many jurisdictions, and under the terms of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, is not a registrable IP right) and unregistered design rights since it can provide evidence of their conception, use, qualification requirements (such as originality and the country in which articles made to the design were first marketed) and status. Uploading an original design or work and details of its designer or creator to a blockchain will create a time-stamped record and reliable evidence to prove these matters. Several blockchain start-ups are already developing distributed ledger technology-based repositories for unregistered IP rights. These repositories could be an interesting and manageable solution for copyright protection as well as digital rights management.

Smart contracts could be used to establish and enforce IP agreements such as licenses and allow the transmission of payments in real-time to IP owners; “smart information” about IP rights in protected content, a song or an image, for example, could be encoded in digital form (in music or an image file). That these ideas are fast becoming mainstream is evidenced by Kodak’s recent launch of a blockchain-based image rights management platform and its own cryptocurrency.[1]

To take it further, “Orphan works” are works that are protected by copyright, but the author cannot be identified or found. Such works, although in the public domain, might not be used because of the fear of infringement if such works are used. To solve this problem, a three-fold solution could be used. Firstly, we would have to check if the author of the work could be identified. Secondly, a blockchain register could be maintained where every search for a work’s owner can be recorded. After the second step, a mechanism could be created involving the public authorities through which an official designation of ‘orphaned’ work could be systematically given, and the knowledge could be used further. But effectively, by creating such a public blockchain-based repository, there would be a certainty with respect to the use of the orphaned works.

[1] Wipo.int: Blockchain and IP Law: A Match made in Crypto Heaven? By Birgit Clark, Baker McKenzie, London, United Kingdom

LAND REGISTRIES AND TITLES

Distributed ledger technology can be used to create a blockchain land registry. Establishing such a blockchain land registry would require a robust public key INFRASTRUCTURE. Such a public key infrastructure can consolidate the current institutional infrastructure governing land registration and titles. This mechanism may require the creation of a single department to manage land registration, a record of rights, and cadastral surveys (A cadastral survey means any activity that uses or generates cadastral evidence to produce an outcome whose primary purpose is boundary determination. The products of a boundary determination can be plans, certificates, or digital data.)

Some of the potential benefits of a blockchain land registry can be the following:

· Cost-effectiveness: The initial implementation cost of the blockchain land registry may be high, but it would provide a method of combining many processes and systems. Such consolidation of processes may increase efficiency through distributed processing, which can reduce long-term costs.

· Efficiency: The use of the blockchain land registry may reduce the number of intermediaries that exist currently in the land title regime. The tamper-proof nature of blockchain can also help in reducing corruption in the land title process.

· TRANSPARENCY: Registration of land records in the blockchain may lead to the possibility that the information in the registry is available to the wider public. Any attempt to tamper the blockchain can be countered by putting in place appropriate protocols.

· EASING ADMINISTRATIVE burden: Land or property-related disputes are a significant source of burden for the administrative officers. A robust land titling system can significantly reduce the number of land/ property related disputes. Such a reduction in the number of disputes can reduce the administrative burden significantly.

INHERITANCE

The problem in India is the case pertaining to inheritance, and property disputes take years to resolve, and even then, the decision sometimes is not satisfactory. This is especially the problem in the lower strata of society. We will understand thing(s) about ownership, implementation of inheritance, management, and virtualization of assets through blockchain technology, which were impossible or infeasible a decade back, have now become feasible so that the people get quicker, affordable and more understandable access to justice. In this overview, we would try to come up with a possible solution to tackle the problems related to ownership and inheritance with particular emphasis on Indian laws and Indian context. The government came up with the plan to assign an identity to all the citizens, and they have managed to implement it using the Aadhaar system successfully. Now, in all practical sense, the majority of the Indian population has an identification number assigned to them, which is connected with their biometrics and personal data.

What is a will?

“Will means the declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property which he desires to be carried into effect after his death.” It comes into effect only after the death of the person who is making it, and it is revocable. Both criteria come under the basic definition of the Wills.

Below are the relevant definitions relating to the same:

● Testator/ Legator: The maker of the will.

● Legatee/ Beneficiary/ Testatrix: The one who has been given the property under the will.

● Operation/ Execution: Takes place after the testator dies.

● Probate of the will: The word means to prove or validate and is a procedure by which the Court approves will as valid, and the last wish of the testatorand appoints a person as an executorof the will.

In case there is no will, the property is divided as intestate as per the personal laws of an individual in India and laws relating to intestate succession.

The advantages of implementation of blockchain technology for the management of assets and inheritance are enumerated below:

● The implementation of Wills through blockchain goes to the core of the problems of family court litigation. This method of storing Willswill lead to an easierdetermination of actualintent at a defined time.

● The bogus challenges would be dismissedfaster, and genuineWills would be easier to uphold, and courts would be able to determine the validity of evidence more quickly.[1]

● The stored contentis a cryptographically encrypted digestof the required file, which is linkedto a definite time in which the document was submitted/ stored, giving proof that the data/ file existed at a particular instance of time.

● Anonymity, privacy, and decentralized proof of data.

● The document will be time-stamped even if the organization itself goes down.

● Establishingownership of the document or asset withoutthe data being revealed is also possible through the blockchain technology, and

● The digest, as mentioned above,could be publiclyrevealed, and if needed, it could be proved that the data existed through which the digest is generated.

● Document time-stamping

● One of the best applications of blockchain technology is proof that the data was created or modified at a particular time without the fear of it being manipulated. Technically, the resources worth 500 best supercomputers, i.e., bitcoin network, could be used for verifying and certifying the truthfulness of the data.

● Checking the document integrity

● If the documentis uploaded and it is modified and re-uploaded again,the hash of the document will change, and the system will recognize it as a different document on the blockchain network. Therefore, in essence, the certified document cannot be tampered with/ changed.[2]

The self-executing and human-intervention free Wills could be made using the Aadhaar information and relevant Aadhaar database. The automated process will run on thousands of computer apparatus simultaneously to ensure guaranteed reliability and hence would be visible to everyone who wants to see the database. This system would run and implement the software without any human intervention.

The said software will be linked to the Aadhaar and death certificate database, which is a database that keeps the record of the people who have died. People will be given the ability to create digital- cryptographic Will with information of legatee, the conditions of execution, and so on and forth as may be required. Once the person is dead, and the death certificate records are updated, which might also be linked to Aadhaar, the will, or the intestate succession can take place automatically. The will gets automatically executed according to the last wishes of the testator.

The document will be in the public domain but will be private. This statement might sound paradoxical, but the statement can be appreciated by understanding the example below:

The names and content of the Will will be kept hidden, but the existence of the will would be visible to everyone with internet access in the world. Instead of the will being identified by the name, email, or the phone number of a person, the will could be given a cryptographic address such as 948757aasdDDHn88Bnl. The people on the internet would be able to see that the will with this address was created on a particular date and time along with the location of the creation at most, but never the real identity of 948757aasdDDHn88Bnl is, and no one would be able to determine this identity except for the beneficiaries, individuals, and attorneys involved.

All the categories of the people mentioned above will be able to decode the cryptographic address above and based on the secret key which they would use to access this document, their privileges can be differentiated, and the file cannot be modified without the secret key and 2-factor authentication by the testator.[3]

To build on this idea, “Every existing movable and immovable property can be given a cryptographic identity on a blockchain.” which would make it easier to implement the digital will. It would be easy and cost-efficient to maintain the registries of assets like cars, houses, factories, and any other asset(s) which are present in the real or virtual world and has the property of being differentiated on the blockchain along with an identification number assigned to them. This system would have advantages ranging from solving tax evasion problems to delays in judicial systems in various systems, including but not limited to inheritance. For discussion ahead, we might say that such implementation has taken place or deemed to have taken place, or they exist as simple text files that contain the relevant information of the asset, so the nature of the asset is not disputed.

The discussion above leads us to the idea of smart Wills. There are several problems with the current system apart from the ones listed in the previous sections of the paper. The process as a whole mostly depends on the executor who, in most cases, are appointed by the testator and is responsible for the execution of the will. Wills are in general used for distributing monetary possessions and are not equipped enough to distribute the digital data and digital rights. This problem is grave and cannot be solved by conventional methods.

Not everyone would need an account on this blockchain as the transfer would have taken in official records, and the same can be conveyed by an email or text message or post. The only requirement would be that of Aadhaar number.

The smart wills can also be used for the functions meant for more than the wills. A bundle can be put conditions on, which might resemble the will. But it can have special functionalities as well. Suppose someone wants to put a condition on a particular bundle “The person with Aadhaar number x should be given the bundle on 30 March 2025” because he/ she will turn 18 in that year. This can be made possible.

World Economic Forum predicts that around 10% of the total global wealth would be stored on the blockchain-based assets within a decade.[4] So essentially, people will hold their wealth in the form of digital assets, crypto assets, crypto securities, cryptocurrencies, etc. Also, India is pro digitization and has always been an early and rampant adopter of technology. The advantages being offered far supersedes the cost required.

Proof of Life:

The proof that a person has died must be established by death registries as it would make the system secure against possible exploitation. Another provision can be added with the assistance of humans where an attorney with power of attorney from the deceased testator would be able to provide the proof of death, and after certain conditions and criteria are satisfied. On proof of the death of the person, his will can be accordingly be executed. Essentially, as soon as the death of the person is registered, it would trigger the execute class in the program, and the will of the deceased would be executed.

But what happens if the person dies intestate? Then there are two paths: either the claims can be made through courts or a second approach can be applied, i.e., all the digital assets on the blockchain would still be there, and as soon as the person’s death is registered, all his smart property and digital assets can be divided according to the personal law of the citizens. This would require the implementation of the oracle.[5] to determine the circle or tentative rates of the smart properties. The oracle’s implementation is also necessary to determine whether the will/ gift is valid according to the personal law of the individual. This way, until the legislature intends to go for UCC(Uniform Civil Code), it might be easier to implement using this mechanism; the inheritance would take place according to the personal laws of an individual.

Also, to divide intestate, the Aadhaar data can be accessed for quick determination of the successors without actually recording the information. So, mainly, the algorithm would interact with the database but only give output. The algorithm and its methodology will be encrypted, and it will be straightforward to obtain all the successors and their respective shares. The exact method and algorithm for each personal law are outside the scope of this discussion. This implementation would reduce the burden on courts, and only the exceptional cases would be brought to the courts. Normal intestate successions would be automated this was. The algorithms could be evolved or altered according to the changing laws.[6]

The application of an AI

The last human intervention remains with regards to the division of the property using the architecture, configuration, or blueprints of the property, companies, or other similar assets. The other assets could be deemed to have been notionally sold at the market at reasonable rates, and the proceeds could be divided according to the shares of the successors. But the division of property and company may still be problematic in the absence of a will. So, every division would be done, and the resultant would be fed to an AI. The AI, through deep learning, will be able to determine how to divide the property or a company. These could still be verified by humans, and this processwould not becomeobsolete in the future, but AI will provide tremendous assistance in solving these disputed matters. The ambiguities could still be challenged in courts.

Software development

The software would be implemented on a private blockchain network as the blockchain will continuously interact with sensitive data of the citizens of India. For this process to be smooth, a KYC layer could be implemented on top of the seamless transferring of the smart properties along with its accountability. The private blockchain could consist of various unions, bar associations, and government departments. The user’s data would still be protected, and it is not a completely decentralized solution but seems to be a feasible solution which can be implemented in this manner.

The project will consist of two things: a mobile application and website. These platforms could be used to convert the properties into smart properties (possible after having support from various government departments) or make the smart wills. The Aadhaar will be necessary for the practicality of the project as all the users will interact with each other using Aadhaar numbers masked with cryptographic addresses.

Use cases:

Various use cases, situation, potential use, and problems, in the view of the author, can be solved as illustrated below:

● A person may have only an original copy of the document or immovable or moveable properties in the real world. Therefore each one of these will have their own unique identity, so will all the digital assets and smart properties. So, once the smart property (representing the property/ asset in the real world) is sold/ gifted, you lose the ownership of the property/ asset in the real world, and you will be no longer in possession of the virtual proof as the private key would be transferred to a new owner. The virtual (smart) contracts on the blockchain would supersede the handwritten or other forms of digital contracts. This will revolutionize not only the inheritance and succession but also how things are purchased and contracts are made.

● Another application would be if the government mandates to put all the records on the blockchain; the trail of the propertywould become more transparent and clear. This would help reduce the menace of black money and increase accountability.

● The trail would also help a person determine what that person possesses. For example, a person might be the owner of an old antiqueor another valuablething, and this method would ensure that his/ her ownership rights are not lost with the generations.

● The software could be implemented in such a way to register property on blockchain as soon as the property is registered on a digital platform using Aadhaar. This would also help curb the use of black money movement in the purchaseof property as the oracle would always be on a lookout,and an AI will automatically trigger the suspicious transaction.

The main advantages of the blockchain in itself are as below:

► Cost and complexity reduction

► Increased transaction procession speed

► Reduced administrative burden and transaction costs

► Improved audit quality

► Autonomousexecution

► Proven and authenticated transactions

► Reduced litigation

► Real-time transactions

► Reliable and irreversible transfers of digital goods

► Inclusive participation of citizens

► Supporting Internet-of-Things (IoT) ecosystems

► Data protection and data integrity assurance

► Crypto-certified data

► Trusted record-keeping

► Reliable and resistant to outages

► Transparency and traceability of transactions

► Tax fraudreduction

► Reduction in money laundering

► Ensuring the correct use of funds[8]

The blockchain is a solution to many traditional problems which might be solved by implementing the new technology and make the system more reliable and transparent.

IMPORTANT NOTE: No will through blockchain is possible.

The legislations in India presently do not recognize the concept of a ‘digital will’ or any other form of testamentary disposition by electronic means. The E-Sign under the Information and Technology Act provides for several exceptions from the general rule that documents required to be in writing may also be recorded electronically. The exceptions embrace the following documents governed by statutes: wills, codicils, testamentary trusts/ trusts which have been defined under Section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act divorce, matters of family law, recall of product, a notice of cancellation or termination of utility services and any document required to accompany any transportation or handling of hazardous materials, etc. According to Section 1(4) of the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000, nothing in the said Act shall apply to a will as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), including any other testamentary disposition by whatever name called.

[1] Nuno Menezes, 'Blockchain Apparatus Launches A New Trusted Will System' (Inside Bitcoins, 2015)accessed 20 April 2018. [2] 'Proof Of Existence' (Github, 2018) accessed 20 April 2018 [3] Dick Eastman, 'Blockchain Based Crypto-Will Fulfills Last Wishes' (blog.eogn, 2016) accessed 20 April 2018. [4] Realizing the Potential of Blockchain: A multistakeholder Approach to Stwardship of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies. url: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Realizing_Potential_ Blockchain.pdf (visited on 09/02/2017). [5] http://blockchainhub.net/blockchain-oracles/ [6] Michel Nicolas and Almonacid Vicente, The Legacy Project (1st edn, Legacy Network 2017) pages:3-12 accessed 20 April 2018.

By Siddharth Dalmia

The StartUp Sherpa

+91-9971799250

dalmiasiddharth1994@gmail.com