Bermuda is going to transfer its property deed system to blockchain as it embraces the technology that also powers cryptocurrency bitcoin.

David Burt has spoken about the intention to make the Bermuda Government more efficient through the use of the distributed ledger technology.

During a discussion event held in conjunction with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Premier said: “Bermuda has an old school deeds-based property system. What we are going to do is transfer our registry to the blockchain.

“Clearly it needs to be transparent so people know what’s there and be secure, and that way we know who owns what at any point in time.”

He said that would make things more efficient, but noted: “Now clearly some of the lawyers who are engaged in that deed transfer will not be very pleased, but the thing is to make more efficiencies inside of our economy — and that means we have more resources inside of our economy for our citizens to use.”

The idea of digitising deed documents and placing them in a blockchain, which is a decentralised, verifiable distributed ledger technology, has been aired in the past month in Bermuda.

Noel Pearman, Bermuda professional lines underwriter and cyber product lead at XL Catlin, mentioned the concept during a cyber seminar last month.

A few days later, Stan Stalnaker, founding director of Bermudian-headquartered Hub Culture, said digital assets such as property title deeds, marriage certificates, vehicle registration documents and ownership contracts will end up on blockchain.

Mr Burt took part in a panel discussion, titled “Real world blockchain, beyond the hype of bitcoin,” yesterday at the Wipro pavilion in Davos.

The Premier talked about Bermuda’s “progressive” ambitions in the blockchain space. He said: “Bermuda is known for high standard regulation, anti-money laundering, KYC [know your customer] and compliance. So with that standard, and knowing that we can build upon that standard and possibly be leaders in the space, that’s why we are being very aggressive in attacking it.

“You can operate without the fear of being looked at in a less than reputable jurisdiction, because Bermuda is anything but.

“So, for anyone to come — we don’t just accept anyone in Bermuda, we make sure you pass our tests, and our tests are very stringent when it comes to KYC and AML. Once you pass that you can operate in a market place that we want to make sure you can service the world.”

In November, the Bermuda Government signalled its intentions to increase its presence in the world of digital assets and blockchain technology, and to attract companies and individuals involved in those areas, by setting up a two-team task force.

During that announcement, the Premier also introduced Aron Dutta, the founder of Vaphr Inc, which is involved in creating, funding and building business models that use technologies including blockchain, cryptology, and artificial intelligence. Mr Dutta’s Ambika Group was in the process of incorporating its global blockchain platform in Bermuda.

In Davos, Mr Dutta was also a member of the panel at the Wipro pavilion. He said: “We are building platforms that will enable such services that the Premier talked about, such as exchanges, market places, citizen services and so forth, and we are working in collaboration with Bermuda.”

He described blockchain as a fabric for creating a new set of business models that could not be done in the past, and to do so in an accurate manner.

Mr Dutta mentioned how Vaphr has partnered with one of the world’s largest merchant point-of-sale networks to introduce blockchain technology into its system.

“It’s going to change the whole notion of remittance as we know it today. The banks have had a lot of time and warning to deal with this for years. If I’m Western Union, or Swift and the other people who are intermediaries, I would be a little bit scared unless I have plan to really embrace this stuff,” he said.

And he advised people wanting to understand the changes that are happening now and those yet to come, to get the book Blockchain for Dummies.

“Understand it because it is really going to affect every part of your life. It is a new fabric. What TCP/IP was for browsers that allowed us to collaborate, blockchain is basically EDI [electronic data interchange] on steroids for trusted commerce,” said Mr Dutta.

Meanwhile, Mr Burt said another area of digital technology that Bermuda is looking into is the concept of digital free ports, where digital assets can be securely stored.

Also on the panel on Davos were Andy Fitze and Dalith Steiger, co-founders of Swisscognitive, and Samantha Zirkin, CEO of Point 93, which has a mobile app and web plug-in aimed at helping retailers and customers.

Giving an example of blockchain being used in the retail environment, Ms Zirkin described how customers with a blockchain verified identity could state what items they would be interested in purchasing, at what price, and by what date. Then, using artificial intelligence to sort the data, retailers have an opportunity to adjust and offer optimised pricing to secure sales.

The panel was moderated by R “Ray” Wang, founder of Constellation Research, which is based in Silicon Valley.

Mr Wang wrapped up the discussion with a light-hearted question to the panel on how much they thought bitcoin will be worth in a year’s time. The cryptocurrency exploded from $900 to $19,000 last year, before dropping back to around $14,000. While others on the panel avoided giving a solid prediction, Mr Burt said: “I’ll play along and say $4,000.”

The Premier also promoted Bermuda’s ambitions in the blockchain space when he spoke at an event presented by Mr Stalnaker at the Hub Culture pavilion. While there he met Bermudian Kion Knights, who is working in Switzerland with Hub Culture.

Mr Burt is in Davos with a Bermuda team that includes Wayne Caines, Minister of National Security, and Sean Moran, of the Bermuda Business Development Agency.

View a video of the Wipro pavilion panel discussion by following this link: https://tinyurl.com/yac4ra8w