The Bermuda Government has signed an agreement with the Bitfury Group to add blockchain technology to the island’s land registry system.

In a statement it said the memorandum of understanding “advances Bermuda’s mission to improve government services for citizens by implementing blockchain-based solutions”.

The land registry project with Bitfury marks the first application of blockchain technology for a government service in Bermuda. Bitfury will work with Trimble, a land administration company, to bring blockchain technology to their existing land registry system.

The Government said the project will serve as an educational resource for deploying additional blockchain functions across other government services.

David Burt, the Premier, said: “Bermuda is leading the region in embracing blockchain solutions that improve vital government services for our citizens. Working with the Bitfury Group, we look forward to building a world-class land-title registry that enhances security, transparency and trust. Bermudians can look forward to a service that is user-friendly and provides clarity and certainty in this important aspect of our economy.

“On July 2, Bermuda will launch the Land Title Registry Office, as planned. The office will work to move all deeds into an electronic format which will eventually replace the current deeds based system.”

Bitfury will build an additional blockchain layer on top of Trimble’s system using Exonum, Bitfury’s open-source framework for efficient and secure private blockchains. Exonum has a cryptographic security feature to protect data.

Valery Vavilow, chief executive officer of Bitfury, said: “The Government of Bermuda has taken huge strides to foster an innovative environment for blockchain technology and create blockchain solutions for their citizens.

“We are honoured to work with Bermuda to build a more secure and transparent countrywide land registry, and we couldn’t be prouder to help advance their mission to improve services for citizens using blockchain.”