Ubitquity uses Bitcoin blockchain to protect real estate titles

Ubitquity LLC is a US blockchain startup that uses blockchain to protect residential real estate titles. The company recently launched a prototype of its platform, which, in addition to the ability to securely store documents, can also integrate with the title insurance industry. The system uses Colu's colored coin implementation to manage digital assets on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Nathan Wosnack, co-founder and CEO of Ubitquity, said the use of blockchain would significantly reduce risk at every stage of the documentation process.

The real estate industry loses about $1 billion a year in fraudulent transfers, much of which is caused by financial institutions issuing loans or mortgages to people with bad credit who are not the legal owners of the land but have deceived the financial institutions into thinking they are. A shared, immutable ledger system provides a better platform for real estate industry practitioners to collaborate and reduce potential fraud.

Wosnack said the blockchain-based platform they are launching will further improve due diligence in the industry.

“As part of due diligence, title companies must conduct an investigation of the property to ensure the chain of ownership is clear. In some cases, due diligence is a lengthy and time-consuming process. With the help of a shared public ledger system like Ubitquity, this process can be made easier and less time-consuming, especially for smaller title companies and financial institutions. Title companies can issue a “clear title certificate” on the blockchain by signing a record of title using their own private key.

“Banks benefit from reduced time spent investigating titles, increased personal creditworthiness, and the transparency of the process on a public blockchain. Lenders can publish and track their trust record on a specific title directly on the blockchain.”

Wosnack said each region has its own rules.

“We are engaging with them with the intent to work with them to ensure legal compliance within their respective jurisdictions.”

The benefit of using the bitcoin blockchain to manage real estate title and deed records is that it allows anyone to browse those records, Wosnack said. Public keys can be made public so that reputable businesses (county offices, banks, title companies) can associate their trusted brands with specific title records.

Wosnack chose Colu because "Colored Coins is a protocol that can be implemented on other blockchains such as Ethereum in the future." Currently, Bitcoin's blockchain is the most reliable and secure blockchain. The Colored Coins API implemented by Colu is very complete and supports many of the features we need, including smart assets, multi-signature and smart contract support. The Colored Coins protocol also provides users with the ability to decentralize large amounts of metadata and file attachments through Torrents.

Ubiquity is working with a number of businesses in the real estate space and says it is inviting select financial institutions, title companies and others in the private sector to participate in exclusive in-house demonstrations of its platform.

Original article: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ubitquity-using-bitcoin-blockchain-secure-real-estate-titles-1548574
By Ian Allison
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/ubitquity-blockchain)