Blockchain technology is growing beyond mainstream banking and financial sectors. As forecasted, the distributed ledger technology is now being adopted by the governments as well. Leading the initiative is the Government of United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai.
According to reports, the financial capital of UAE, Dubai will soon be using blockchain technology for all government documents. The implementation is expected to be completed by the year 2020.
The government’s initiative, launched by the Crowd Prince and the Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was announced by the Dubai Media Office. The cross cultured metropolitan has become an emerging destination for blockchain technology implementation. The Emirate also played host to the Blockchain Technology Conference held earlier this year.
In the conference, the use of blockchain technology in finance and beyond were discussed extensively.
Many companies and government offices are part of the Global Blockchain Council. The members of the council include Smart Dubai, Dubai Smart Government, Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC), BitOasis, Cisco, IBM, Kraken, Microsoft and SAP among others. Even DU, the leading telecom provider in the region, has committed itself to creating a blockchain-based patient healthcare records management system that allows doctors easy access to patient records.
“Dubai is providing an example of what other governments should be doing to support the development of blockchain.”
— Alvaro Abella, Managing Partner at Beco Capital
The UAE-based Bitcoin exchange, BitOasis is currently working with DMCC to manage flexidesk contracts and registration process. Another collaboration with Kraken to combine Islamic finance operations with blockchain technology is also in the books.
Even the recently concluded Misys Connect Forum, the regional banking event revolved around the use of blockchain technology for banking and financial services. There are speculations about the inclusion of distributed ledger technology for facilitation of trade at ports.
With so many distributed ledger based projects in the books, UAE may soon become the model state for the use of blockchain technology in finance, governance, trade, healthcare and more.
Ref: Gulf Business | Image: NewsBTC