Bitcoin Forum

It’s not a new to everyone that there have been wars in different countries, and I was just thinking, what if people are forced to leave because of war? They’d probably leave in a hurry without carrying anything, and in that kind of situation, not everyone would think of bringing their land title. The focus would just be on surviving.

Since land titles in most countries are still just paper, there’s always the possibility that a corrupt government could claim the land for themselves and transfer it to their allies. They could even say that the offices where the land records were kept got destroyed, so they can’t recover them anymore which basically resets everything and gives them a perfect excuse to cheat the rightful owners.

But if these records were stored on the blockchain, they couldn’t be erased. The ownership would still be visible and verifiable, making it harder for anyone else to claim the land. I think it’s possible, but I’m not an expert, so I’m wondering how it could actually be implemented in practice and if courts would even accept it. Does anyone here think that’s realistic?

Not because historically, when there has been a war, the winning side has seized land if it wanted to. The good thing about bitcoin is that you can carry a huge fortune in your head or on a piece of hidden paper. So rather than thinking about taking your land rights with you, in a situation like that I would think about converting as much of my wealth as possible into bitcoin before escaping.

It is one of many utilities of blockchain and there is huge space for more usages and applications on blockchains. In modern world, the young generations would like to have digital things that are easily portable everywhere, secured by blockchain technology, no centralization, no censorship, no risk of erase effort from any entity.

In addition, between land slots, real estates and Bitcoin, I am very sure that the majority of young generations would prefer to choose Bitcoin as what they invest money in, store their wealth, and bring around.

I’m not sure about the technical details of the process but I know for sure that blockchain can be used as a land verification tool. From what I gathered from the internet, “each document in the blockchain is given a unique digital code or "fingerprint" to prove its authenticity and protect its contents. Only verified digital IDs or e-signatures will be given access to the document, vouching for authenticity and preventing fraud”.

Source (https://www.homewardlegal.co.uk/conveyancing/residential)

Bitcoin is the hardest and healthiest form of money that humanity has ever had. It can help people avoid having to use land or real estate just to preserve value. In the traditional fiat system, holding fiat currencies (like euros or dollars) leads to a loss of value due to inflation , every year, the value of your savings decreases. Because of this, people often turn to real estate or land as a way to protect their capital from inflation, since those assets can appreciate in value over time.

Bitcoin helps by making it so you no longer have to buy land or houses just to preserve the value of your money.You no longer need dozens of houses and land , you can own just the one you live in and use.If you save in Bitcoin, your wealth is in Bitcoin,not in houses, land, or gold. This way, you can move more easily and leave the country if wars,or a totalitarian and oppressive regime arise You can avoid problems and continue your life in another country, bringing your entire savings with you.



Blockchain is a very old technology, but its true use is only in Bitcoin as sound money, and only with the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. Without Bitcoin and PoW, blockchain is just a decentralized slow database that doesn’t make much sense.

Everything is already set, the procedure is clear, all we really need is recognition. There should be an international law for this, so that if the country you left because of war doesn’t accept your claim, you could seek help from an international court.

Ideally, it should be implemented globally, since we never know what might happen in the future (God forbid, another war). This way, as long as we or our families are still alive, we can still claim the properties we had to leave behind.

I’m not sure if there are already countries doing this. The USA is probably the most advanced right now when it comes to crypto regulation.
Maybe Trump would even consider it... what do you think?

The technology for storing data already exists, but whether it is beneficial to the state is another question. Most government officials will likely only start working on such a task when they see their own benefit in it. Electronic databases are already in use, but they can be hacked. It is logical to assume that the next step will be the transition to blockchain. Trump, as one of the most influential political figures in the world, can really speed up the implementation of this system, but we should not forget that he does not make such decisions alone - there is also the Senate, which must approve it.

I really don’t see why not. Even the UK that’s very strict on Bitcoin regulation are open to the idea of blockchain and property ownership and they have been exploring it for a while now. There doesn’t even have to be a war for a country to want to implement blockchain technology in Land ownership.

Are you talking about Israel by any chance?
I know they were in your mind when you created this thread. Bitcoin cannot help in this case. The blockchain technology you were talking about is a good idea, but if I am not wrong, most countries are now storing data online. Which means, people pay tax online for their land, house, and business. So, they must have the digital copies of their papers. It's not too hard to scan the documents and then store them on your private cloud. You can access your data/documents from anywhere. If I know that there will be war, of course I will prepare myself. BTW, I don't even know where the papers. Thanks for the topic, I will have to search the papers.

Perhaps if looked at from an international law perspective, yes. But then again, when international humanitarian laws are constantly trampled on and even ignored (present day happening right now), not sure how it would work in practice. Land titles, individually owned, tend to be recognised by a state, and when that state is in flux, or no longer exists, the presiding state would probably invalidate any previous deeds (also has actually happened).

Bitcoin doesn't solve the underlying issue, it may provide an alternative means of recording.

Does government even need a prove before they can claim a land if they want to? Is government not the institution issuing the paper evidence? I mean they can manipulate the documents anytime if they want to forcefully claim the land. You need a Pro-Bitcoin government to buy in this idea otherwise, they'll come up with excuses of high cost of paying the experts to implement it. By the way, with or without evidence it's a complete waste of time and resources challenge a corrupt government over land or any other properties.

no, not at all.


I’m not sure if a digital copy would really be honored when the original land title is on paper, that’s what’s officially filed. What you store online is still just a copy, not the original, so it would still need verification.

I’m talking about situations where the government is corrupt and can erase your data or documents when you leave the country. Then, when you come back, you’ve got nothing to claim.

And by the way, putting something in “the cloud” doesn’t mean it’s truly secure, it’s still stored on a company’s servers. That’s not the same as blockchain, which is decentralized and accessible anytime, anywhere.


Not all governments start out corrupt, some might even be open to this idea in the beginning. The problem is, after a war, power can change people. They start feeling like they own the country and can do whatever they want, even if it’s no longer in the best interest of the people.

I don’t think you’d even need top experts for this, since it’s the blockchain doing the heavy lifting. What matters is having a clear procedure that anyone can follow, and making sure the government actually approves a law that allows it.

Yes blockchain might provide some security in this situation but mind that no system is fully safe if the people Who live in that country are mostly corrupt.

Let’s say land ownership is visible on the blockchain but the judge ruled against it. What are you gonna do about that? See? There is also another flaw here. If the law enforcement can’t do anything about it, then it would mean they are powerless. Since they can, that means blockchain don’t mean anything.

People should learn it by now, blockchain and governments can’t coexist peacefully.

No,
1. It requires legal acknowledgement from government to be used as proof.
2. IMO Bitcoin shouldn't be used to store arbitary data, even when the protocol doesn't stop you from doing that.
3. Depending on how you store it (e.g. storing PDF rather than plain text), it would be costly.

Idea of using blockchain for land titles is great one especially in times of war where paper records can be lost or destroyed. Blockchain is perfect for this because it creates permanent and public record of who owns what which can not be changed or erased by corrupt government. This is because information is stored on many computers not just one office. Although it would be big job to set up and get courts to accept these new digital titles some countries are already exploring this to help protect people from having their property stolen.

In a similar situation, the easiest way to transfer your assets is bitcoin. Therefore, in case of force majeure, it is reasonable to have part of the assets in the form of crypto assets.

If the government wants to take away your property (land), it will find a way to do it "legally". No "papers" will help you.

Theoretically, yes, a blockchain entry could allow you to preserve your "ownership" and I believe that in the future this will be the case everywhere (in countries where citizens' rights are respected).

If a corrupt government could claim the land for themselves despite having the title on paper, no blockchain is going to stop them.

At least with blockchain, you have proof you can present if you ever try to sue the government. It’s transparent and can’t be tampered with, so even an outside court would recognize it.

On the other hand, a title issued by the government can be denied by them, and if it gets lost, you’re in an even worse situation with no evidence at all. That’s why this kind of change would be a big help if the government supports it from the start.

You wrote Bitcoin on the title, but you talk about blockchain on the content.

Bitcoin and blockchain are different.

Even the right owners record their certificate and other evidence on blockchain, do they have power to fight with the government? just because you have the proof, it doesn't mean you will win.

Bitcoin can't protect the land rights of refugees, but they can protect your wealth.

The subject of this thread is Misleading. You are talking about blockchain and not Bitcoin.

Blockchain has multiple use cases. Any data that requires a chain of information to be stored, blockchain is one of the safest ways we have.

Land records is definitely going to be benefited from the adoption of blockchain. War situation is different but in general blockchain will be very useful for keeping such records. Same application for health care industry and many others.

Blockchain technology might not solve the entire problem when it comes to reclaiming land after war, but it has some advantages. The government might decide to change the laws if the want to take over properties but the information in the Blockchain could be used for litigation. With such data on the Blockchain, they person might get justice in the law court.

One of the ways corrupt government carryout illegal activities in my country is to burn government offices so that information be destroyed. But with this new technology, the information will be intact.

Digitized deeds and promissory notes may cause practical difficulties. Courts may not accept the blockchain record alone as sufficient evidence. There needs to be a legal infrastructure for these situations. Access can be a big problem. In times of war or crisis, if there is no internet, access may not be available. So this system alone cannot provide full protection without international recognition and legal infrastructure.

Court might not accept blockchain records if it is not constitutional. But they have no excuse to accept such evidence of blockchain technology is covered by the law and is allowed to be presented as evidence in court. OP is referring to claiming the property at the end of the war,maybe when power and internet services have been restored. This system night not be perfect but it can serve as a backup to existing platforms.

I think in this case, the government must recognize the blockchain recording as legitimate.  Even with all the technology of recording is at hand, if the government does not recognize it, it will only be in vain.  They will still accept the documents that is valid for them.

With that I can say it is possible that Bitcoin blockchain records can protect land rights if the government acknowledge it as legitimate documents as proof of ownership.

Already being done using ETH & Smart Contracts. Of course it is not Bitcoin but rather a token/altcoin being used for very legitimate and as-intended purpose - records keeping .

A good number of municipalities in various countries have been doing it for several years though I have no idea just how "universally accessible' the records are to the general public.

During a war or crisis, loss of things is not the only thing that people lose, they lose evidence of ownership as well. Blockchain would offer permenant and tamperproof interface to land recordings and this should be able to defend the right of people even when the world is in disorder. The difficulty would be to make the governments to adopt it and the legal systems to recognize it on a formal level. However in principle, it will add desperately sorely needed transparency and security in the ownership of land particularly in a corrupt or weak government state. It seems that it is an idea to be taken more seriously.