Blockchain for land registry: innovations, laws and practice

Blockchain is a decentralized distributed ledger technology that ensures transparency, immutability, and security of data. In the context of land cadastre, where property rights, intended use, area, and other characteristics of land plots are registered, blockchain can revolutionize processes by minimizing the risks of fraud, data forgery, and errors. Due to decentralization, data is stored on multiple nodes, making it

Benefits of Blockchain for Land Registry

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Blockchain for land registry: innovations, laws and practice

Евгений Глинский

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Transparency: All transactions and changes in the registry are visible to network participants, allowing for control over processes.

Security: Data immutability protects against unauthorized changes, such as changing the owner or purpose of the site.

Efficiency: Speed up registration and verification processes thanks to automation through smart contracts.

Reduced Fraud: Eliminating intermediaries and the ability to quickly verify ownership reduces the risk of corporate raiding.

Accessibility: Data can be verified in real time via QR codes or online portals.

Legislative initiatives

Russia

In Russia, blockchain is being actively studied as a tool for digitalizing state registries. According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2018 No. 204 “On national goals and strategic objectives for the development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024”, one of the goals is to create legal regulation of the digital economy, including the use of blockchain. Although the land cadastre has not yet been fully transferred to blockchain, Rosreestr (Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography) is testing pilot projects. For example, in 2021, initiatives were discussed to use blockchain for mortgage transactions, which could be expanded to cadastral registration.

Ukraine

In 2017, Ukraine became one of the first countries to begin implementing blockchain in the State Land Cadastre. On June 21, 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution on the transfer of the cadastre to blockchain technology to protect data from external interference and increase transparency. At the first stage, the procedure for verifying extracts from the cadastre was transferred, where data (cadastral number, area, form of ownership, etc.) were recorded in the blockchain, and the extracts were supplemented with a hash and QR code for verification. However, as the head of the State Geocadastre Roman Leshchenko noted in 2020, full data protection was not achieved due to incorrect input of the initial data. This emphasizes the importance of the quality of the underlying data for the successful use of blockchain.

Practice

Sweden

Sweden’s National Land Registry (Lantmäteriet) has been testing blockchain for registering real estate transactions since 2016. After two years of pilot projects, the agency began using blockchain to record land purchases and sales in 2018. This reduced transaction times, increased transparency, and reduced the risk of fraud. However, Swedish law does not yet recognize digital signatures, which limits the full transition to this technology.

Georgia

Since 2016, the Ministry of Justice, together with BitFury, has been implementing blockchain registration of land ownership. Since 2017, the system has been officially operational, allowing transactions to be completed in one day. The cost of registration varies from $50 to $200, and the data is duplicated in the Bitcoin blockchain, through hashes or smart contracts – for additional reliability.

India

The Indian government is actively fighting land fraud — with the help of blockchain. Andhra Pradesh has become the first state to implement such technology for cadastral registration. A technology park has been created in the city of Visakhapatnam with the participation of blockchain companies Apla, Phoenix, and Oasis Grace. The initiative is aimed at protecting property rights and simplifying registration.

Problems

Blockchain promises to make land records more reliable, faster and more transparent, but there are obstacles.

Legislation: Many countries, including Russia and Sweden, face restrictions related to the non-recognition of digital signatures or the lack of clear regulations for blockchain.

Technical complexity: Implementation requires significant investment in infrastructure and training.

Data quality: As the example of Ukraine has shown, incorrect initial data reduces the effectiveness of the system, making it practically unusable.

Latest news

Russia: Rosreestr announced new pilot projects for integrating blockchain into cadastral registration and mortgage transactions in 2024, but no specific results have been presented yet. This is in line with the desire for digitalization outlined in the legislation.

India: In 2025, Telangana state announced to expand blockchain projects for land registry, following the example of Andhra Pradesh, to cover more regions.

Blockchain for land cadastre is a step towards transparency, security and efficiency. Examples from Sweden, Georgia and India demonstrate success in practice, and legislative initiatives in Russia and Ukraine demonstrate the interest of these countries in the technology. However, clear laws, high-quality data and investment are needed for full implementation. In the future, blockchain may become the standard for cadastral systems, protecting property rights and attracting investment.