The California Division of Motor Autos (DMV) is testing out the digitization of car titles and title transfers via a non-public Tezos blockchain.
The transfer is a part of a collaboration between the California DMV, Tezos and blockchain software program agency Oxhead Alpha, with the latter announcing a profitable proof-of-concept on Jan. 25.
The California DMV has tapped Oxhead Alpha to construct on a non-public Tezos testnet that it has dubbed a “shadow ledger.” It’s basically designed to develop into a blockchain-based replication of the company’s present database.
The California DMV’s chief digital officer Ajay Gupta told Fortune on Jan. 26 that the company needs to have the shadow ledger ironed out inside the subsequent three months.
Following on from that, it’s wanting to roll out functions resembling digital wallets to maintain and switch nonfungible token car titles, with the DMV performing as a intermediary to oversee such operations.
“The DMV’s notion of lagging behind ought to undoubtedly change,” Gupta informed Forbes.
Oxhead Alpha’s president, Andrew Smith, outlined that the California DMV’s blockchain initiative will serve a variety of use instances for the company, significantly in regards to the modernization of its present paper-based methods.
Smith highlighted examples of transaction fraud, by which car sellers disguise key details about the car’s situation to offload a dud or “lemon” onto unsuspecting patrons.
Whereas defective autos have a particular designation on their titles in California, Smith famous that sellers can transfer the car over to one other state and conceal the defective designations with relative ease.
Nonetheless, with blockchain-based file preserving and different DMVs probably adopting the tech, Smith steered it might be a lot simpler to observe the precise historical past of autos digitally.
“So far as the profit for having a persistent digital title, this can be a very apparent use case,” he mentioned.
Commenting on why Tezos was a good fit for the DMV, Smith outlined within the agency’s Jan. 25 announcement that the blockchain “solves a number of the actually arduous issues in blockchain in a chic method.”
“The mix of accountable consensus, on-chain governance and institutional grade safety makes Tezos an ideal platform for delivering production-ready options,” he mentioned.
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The transfer from the California DMV is probably going to be adopted by others within the state shifting ahead. In Could 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to direct and discover alternatives for blockchain tech integrations with state authorities companies.
“California is a world hub of innovation, and we’re organising the state for achievement with this rising expertise — spurring accountable innovation, defending shoppers and leveraging this expertise for the general public good,” mentioned the governor.
