Report of the eGaaS team

April 23, 2017 — May 22, 2017
Costs in the period: $20 000

Research and development

Response to the Request for Information for Blockchain-based International Assistance

The eGaaS team prepared a document for the United Nations Office for Project Services with answers to the questions on the use of the blockchain technology (link).

Conclusion

The implementation of the functionality listed in Section II requires a strict division of works (projects) both in terms of levels and technologies, and in the implementation stages. In our opinion, it is necessary to single out the following projects independent in many respects that should be performed by specialized divisions/firms:

1. Creation of a common digital ecosystem based on a private blockchain with an implemented smart contracts mechanism and an extended control access system for registries and contracts.
2. The implementation of the person identification system, its harmonization with the legislation of the countries on the territory of which the identification will be performed, providing the population with means of secure and verified access to the network (security tokens, mobile and desktop applications, terminals, biometric monitoring tools), with the purpose of creating a common person registry.
3. Creation of a number of independent blockchain ecosystem based platforms — financial, economic, logistical, medical, etc. The coordinated functioning of the platforms is ensured by the use of data from common registries and a common smart contracts language.
4. The development and harmonization with the governments of unified regulations ensuring the legal significance of registries records of the blockchain ecosystem and smart contracts, the creation in the ecosystem of a common legal field controlling both individual transactions and the relationship between platforms.

e-Government: Blockchain vs Traditional information systems

The team prepared a document for potential customers about the specificities of use of the blockchain technology in e-Government (link).

Conclusion

So, it should be understood that blockchain is not a mean of digital modeling and automation of state, financial, business and other processes existing within the established legal field. Blockchain-ecosystem is a remedy for creation fundamentally different legislative system, where the majority of legally significant relations are performed automatically by smart-contracts under the control of smart-laws. The transition to blockchain-ecosystem requires a significant restructuring of the legislative system, revision of the principles of the functioning of state departments, as well as changes in the methods of organizing and doing business, building of the new relations between the state and citizens (although all these changes could be doing gradually, step by step).

Integration of Existing IT Systems with the eGaaS Blockchain Ecosystem

The team carried out research studies related to the options for integration of the eGaaS ecosystem with the existing IT systems and prepared a document that describes possible integration scenarios.

Conclusions

• The main thing to keep in mind while considering the transition to the blockchain technology is that the technology’s advantages can be enjoyed in full only when all the data is stored in the blockchain. That is why the main problem that should be solved in the transition to the blockchain environment is the development and use of legally valid procedure of entering data into the blockchain. The current IT systems can harmonized with the blockchain ecosystem at the level of certain types of data that will be duplicated in the blockchain, given that there are data exchange protocols that are approved at the government level. In this case the blockchain becomes a trusted environment for departments’ work with each other, as well as with legal entities and private individuals.

Articles

Forbs Russia published an article written by Alexander Boldachev, eGeeS analyst, and Oleg Strelenko, eGaaS CEO: “Blockchain Against Bureaucracy: e-Government Based on Distributed Ledger Technology”

Software applications of the eGaaS platform

New Business License Issuance Service

As part of the POC (proof of concept) the eGaaS team developed and successfully demonstrated the work of an application for issuance of business licenses. The following features were implemented in the POC project:

• User notification system
• Contract signing by users (individuals and officials)
• Passing arrays from pages to contracts
• Creation and use of unified blocks in user interface design

Application Software shell

• Added a new program entity “application” that describes a set of contracts, tables and pages created for realization of a single software function.
• The main purpose for creating the framework was to show only the elements relevant to a selected function, rather than showing all of them at once, thus making the developers’ life easier.

Software platform and language of smart contracts

The following functions were added:

Security and encryption

• Generation and storage of private keys for API.

Development of template engine language

• Developed an API for exchange that includes commands for generation of keys (wallets), transferring funds from existing wallets, and requesting wallets’ balance and history information.

Rights Management System

• Access rights for reading contracts and tables, and checking these rights using contracts’ built-in functions.

Current changes and corrections

• Synchronization of changes with version 1.0 and eGaaS-private.
• Code re-work and optimization in accordance with the source code formatting requirements. In the process of code re-work a big number of rows and files were changed, including the changes due to automatic replacement of rows. That is why these changes were not counted in the final statistics.
• Several bugs found and fixed.
• The majority of library functions in LIB were improved.

Market Review

France’s Government is Beginning a Blockchain Research Effort

The French government has convened a new working group focused on blockchain.

The effort is being spearheaded by France Stratégie, a commission that reports to the office of French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Founded in 2013, France Stratégie acts as a kind of research and strategy development office on socioeconomic issues.

What they’re doing: According to a statement from France Stratégie, the working group will:

• Research the blockchain implementations that exist today
• Explore the benefits (and costs) of public-sector applications
• Propose how the French government can “support its development”.

The working group will meet on four occasions between May and September, and is set to deliver its findings in October.

May 10, 2017 at 17:20 by Stan Higgins / coindesk.com

Intel Aims at Blockchain Integration For Entire Healthcare Industry

Intel, the $167 bln US-based chip manufacturer and technology company, has officially secured a partnership with Healthcare transaction service provider and software development firm PokitDok to utilize Blockchain technology in providing a more efficient platform for companies in the healthcare industry.

By Joseph Young, MAY 21, 2017 / cointelegraph.com

Consensus 2017: EU, India Governments See Path to Global Blockchain Adoption

Speakers during the opening panel of Consensus 2017 agreed that blockchain is set to go global — but differed on how, exactly, the technology will get to that point.

Vincent Wang, chief innovation officer for China Wanxiang Group, argued that the path to success means reaching out to the businesses and industries that haven’t yet begun any kind of meaningful experimentation.

“If blockchain is to take off, which I believe it will, we need to address the silent majority that does not often speak up, that is the industries who will see value,” he said.

May 22, 2017 at 16:15 by Amy Castor / coindesk.com

Government-Backed Firm to Launch Blockchain IDs in Luxembourg

A major digital identity firm backed by the government of Luxembourg is building a new platform alongside US startup Cambridge Blockchain.

The initiative, unveiled today, sees the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup partnering with LuxTrust — a company formed in 2005 as part of a big push toward digital identity solutions within Luxembourg that began in the early 2000s.

The state of Luxembourg owns two-thirds of LuxTrust, with the remainder held by a consortium of banks and financial institutions that utilize its services.

That firm is now moving to integrate blockchain, setting the stage for at least some of its 500,000-strong subscriber base to utilize the tech in some capacity.

May 15, 2017 at 11:00 by Stan Higgins / coindesk.com

Estonia Eyes Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence For Legal Sphere

A further use case for Blockchain in Estonia is emerging in the form of Agrello’s self-signing legal contracts.

Under plans announced by the startup this week, the legal practice in Estonia could soon see Blockchain-based smart contracts and artificial intelligence (AI) leave their mark.

“Until now, current Smart Contract technology has been impossible to implement as a real-world agreement due to its lack of legal visibility and obscured nature,” Agrello’s chief scientist Alexander Norta said in an accompanying press release.

By William Suberg, MAY 16, 2017 / cointelegraph.com

Blockchain Will “Change Lives” of Citizens: European Parliament Report

The European Parliament has published a dedicated report examining how Blockchain will “change lives” of EU citizens.

The document, originally completed in February, is intended as an “accessible entry point” into understanding Blockchain, its authors say.

“Blockchain technology is of increasing interest to citizens, businesses and legislators across the European Union,” they continue.

“This report is aimed at providing a point of entry for those curious about blockchain technology, so as to stimulate interest and provoke discussion around its potential impact.”

By William Suberg, MAY 15, 2017 / cointelegraph.com