The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is running a project to digitize all of its titles and put them on a blockchain. The project, which will use the Tezos blockchain and has the assistance of Oxhead Alpha, a crypto development company, aims to allow users to transfer titles as NFTs in the future.
Innovation is coming to the California DMV
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California is working to bring innovation to its duties by decentralizing its functions. The agency is currently in the process of moving all of its registered titles to the blockchain, according to Ajay Gupta, the digital chief of the state DMV.
The project, which started back in 2020 and halted progress due to the pandemic, will produce a “shadow book” of all vehicle titles in the state, to modernize its registry and operations. The new system will be established on top of Tezo’s blockchain and will be built in partnership with Oxhead Alpha, a cryptocurrency development company.
The system will be managed by the DMV in a privately managed instance of Tezo’s blockchain, which is already running with nodes validating operations, Fortune Crypto reports.
Title transfers on the blockchain
The DMV of California hopes to finish setting up the system within the next three months and begin building apps that offer various features for customers.
One of the touted benefits of having a digitized, persistent register is that vehicles sold as lemons, meaning they were sold with significant defects, will remain registered as such, protecting future buyers. This was not possible with the current system, which allows cars registered in other states to be sold without this designation.
Another application of this system would be to connect it with similar systems from other states to build a global registry of cars in the country, but this would depend on how interested other areas might be in implementing a blockchain system.
One of the most significant applications projected is to allow customers to transfer titles as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) using a consumer app managed by the DMV, provided users comply with all requirements to do so. This kind of functionality is on the horizon, according to Gupta’s statements. However, he did not provide a time frame for the launch of this feature.
What do you think about the implementation of blockchain technology by the California DMV? Tell us in the comments section below.
Sergio Goschenko
Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price spike occurred during December 2017. He has a computer engineering background, lives in Venezuela and is influenced by the cryptocurrency boom on a social level, offering a different point of view on crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.
Image credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, 7713 Photography / Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or an endorsement or recommendation of products, services or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is directly or indirectly responsible for damages or losses caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on content, goods or services mentioned in this article.