Behind the scenes of VeChain’s partnership with Jur
Jur is building a powerful dispute resolution system using blockchain technology.
This complete legal vertical will have solutions for individuals with low-value disputes, corporations with more sophisticated needs, and everything in between.
It will be powered by the JUR token, available soon on the VeChainThor platform. In the world of business, contract disputes are expensive and slow to resolve.
Instead of wasting resources, Jur believes in a future where contracts, jurisdictions, and other disputes can be mediated in an efficient and decentralized manner.
Shared values, shared goals
When CEO Alessandro Palombo’s team was looking for a blockchain platform to launch Jur on, they knew that most of the public chains on the market weren’t going to cut it. They knew that in addition to speed, reliability, and powerful development tools, they also needed a platform that had the leadership and governance to match Jur’s vision for decentralized legal solutions. Ideals such as justice and trust wouldn’t be possible if the underlying blockchain platform couldn’t live up to the high standards of the individuals and businesses using Jur’s solutions.
So when VeChain’s Ecosystem Manager Dimitrios Neocleous reached out and proposed a meeting, Alessandro was keen to learn more. As both Alessandro and Dimitrios have a strong background in law, there was a mutual understanding of what would be necessary to make a collaboration successful. They had known each other even before Neocleous joined the VeChain team, when he had stumbled upon Jur while exploring how blockchain could impact the legal industry. Neocleous was practicing law at his London-based firm, and immediately noticed how features exclusive to VeChain, such as fee delegation, could improve the user experience on the Jur platform. Fee delegation allows the developer to sponsor the costs of using blockchain applications. This way, users can be onboarded faster and don’t have to be burdened with gas fees and the more technical aspects of using a blockchain.
“Jur is a unique add-on to the VeChain ecosystem. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) disrupted the traditional legal profession back in the days. Now imagine ADR on the blockchain…”
Dimitrios Neocleous — VeChain Ecosystem Manager
VeChain CEO Sunny Lu discusses blockchain with Jur CEO Alessandro Palombo
In February, the two projects finally sat down for a meeting in Milan. The meeting included VeChain CEO Sunny Lu, OceanEx Co-Founder and blockchain legal expert Daniel Kellman, as well as other influential ecosystem members. Throughout the discussions, it became apparent that everyone had similar ideas towards how blockchain technology could be used to solve real-world problems. The meeting was a success, and it became clear that a collaboration would be possible.
“For us, it was essential to meet the VeChain team and recognize the shared values and professionalism of their ecosystem. We believe that technology is a medium for optimizing and creating value. People and teams make the difference in creating the right impact. Jur looks at impact. We fell in love with the people behind VeChain, the core team, the community, and we share their vision of a blockchain at the service of companies, of real needs.”
— Jur CEO Alessandro Palombo
Leaving Ethereum for VeChain
Soon after the meeting, Alessandro Palombo and his team made the decision to port from Ethereum to VeChain. VeChain’s governance model was a major selling point, as it is a perfect blend of democratic decentralization and smart management. Jur believes that teams linked by clear dynamics of direction and leadership are needed to establish a corporate environment for business-oriented blockchain services. This is not possible with pure decentralization, where implementing improvements and coordinating business initiatives can be inefficient and impractical.
Initially, Jur CTO Luca Daniel wasn’t entirely convinced. A ton of work had gone into building the project on Ethereum, and Luca was worried that the team was only considering the change from a business standpoint. At the time, they were just months away from launch. Luca worried a poorly-made decision could have caused major headaches from a development standpoint. Switching an entire blockchain infrastructure sounded like a major nightmare, and had the potential to waste months getting things ported over.
For him, the turning point was the VeChain Summit, where he got in touch with other developers and community members. He was especially impressed by Totient Labs and the work they did building Comet, a web-browser plugin similar to Metamask. He believed that Comet had a great user experience and made blockchain applications a lot easier to use. Ultimately, Luca saw the value in making the Jur platform as easy to use as possible.
The CTO was also worried about the migration of existing smart contracts. To his surprise, the contracts were highly compatible, streamlining the transition process. He also noted the importance of having Sync, a standalone browser, because it makes developing and debugging a whole lot easier. Now the development team is focusing on the frontend, and once the porting is complete, they plan to start an intensive testing program on the testnet. Jur will use some of their partner universities to gather technical and legal reports as they prepare the platform for a public launch.
For Luca, the entire process was made easier by the support he received from the VeChain technical team and community. He stressed how important it is to have a dev-oriented ecosystem that can provide all the necessary tools to develop in a proper way. VeChain’s combination of an active community, high-compatibility with Ethereum, and commitment to providing a well-designed user experience made porting a relatively painless process.
Real solutions in use
Jur is a multi-faceted project that is seeking to improve trust in business relationships. Most importantly, Jur wants to differentiate itself from other blockchain projects by having a functioning product at launch. Jur intends to cut through the industry’s speculation and uncertainty by creating a usable network even before the process of token distribution begins. The first solution, known as the Open Layer, is scheduled to be up and running in the upcoming weeks. More details on the release of the Open Layer and the JUR token distribution model will be available soon. Interested parties can sign up to Jur News to make sure not to miss any updates.
In the meantime, Jur is glad to be joining VeChain on the frontlines of enterprise blockchain adoption. VeChain’s impressive list of clients includes multinational corporations like Wal-Mart, DNV GL, Deloitte, PwC, and BMW, proving the value that blockchain solutions bring to the workplace. These enterprises are joined by academic institutions and government organizations that all add tremendous credibility to the underlying technology. And as more partners enter the ecosystem, the growing network of developers and professionals continue to build tools and resources that help the platform evolve day by day. Blockchain technology is still in its infancy, and therefore in a state of continuous growth and evolution. During this phase, it’s essential to have leadership that understands innovative and sustainable business practices.
With the launch just around the corner, Jur is confident that their decision to join the VeChain ecosystem was the right one. Jur reflects VeChain’s ambitions to build solutions that create value for businesses and individuals. Additionally, they share a long-term objective that can only be reached through ethical and transparent leadership. Above all, Jur is convinced that its complete legal ecosystem will bring efficiency, utility, and justice to users and companies around the world. It’s just a matter of time before people see the value in a new justice ecosystem that is both easy and affordable to use.
Article by Ben Yorke
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