Bergen County, New Jersey is embracing blockchain technology by partnering with the Avalanche network to revolutionize its property record system. This groundbreaking project, touted as the largest property deed tokenization initiative in the U.S., will see 370,000 property deeds, equivalent to approximately $240 billion in real estate value, migrated onto a blockchain ledger. This innovative system, powered by Avalanche, aims to enhance efficiency and security for nearly a million residents across 70 municipalities.
County Clerk of Bergen, John Hogan, expressed the significance of this initiative in improving the lives of residents. By digitizing property records, the process will be streamlined, expedited, and more secure for homeowners, businesses, and future generations.
This move aligns with the growing trend of utilizing blockchain technology for asset tokenization, including real estate. The tokenized asset market is forecasted to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033, with real estate playing a substantial role. Recently, the Dubai Land Department introduced a real estate tokenization platform on the XRP Ledger network to bring a significant portion of real estate transactions to blockchain.
Balcony, the land record blockchain firm behind this project, has successfully implemented similar systems in various New Jersey counties. Their blockchain-based platform offers significant benefits, such as reducing deed processing time by 90% and mitigating risks like fraud and record discrepancies. Additionally, the platform has the potential to increase municipal revenue, as demonstrated by its detection of nearly $1 million in lost revenue in Orange, NJ.
Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo, Chief Strategy Officer of Ava Labs, highlighted the role of blockchain in solving real-world challenges. He emphasized Avalanche’s capability to handle large volumes of data swiftly and securely, making it an ideal solution for modernizing property record management and transforming public institutions.
In a similar vein, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles digitized 42 million car titles on Avalanche last year to streamline the state’s title transfer process in collaboration with software development firm Oxhead Alpha.
Read more: Dubai Unveils Real Estate Tokenization Platform on XRP Ledger Amid $16B Initiative