The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is testing out the digitization of car titles and title transfers via a private Tezos blockchain. <\/p>\n
The move is part of a collaboration between the California DMV, Tezos and blockchain software firm Oxhead Alpha, with the latter announcing t successful proof-of-concept on Jan. 25. <\/p>\n
The California DMV has tapped Oxhead Alpha to build on a private Tezos testnet that it has dubbed a \u201cshadow ledger.\u201d It is essentially designed to become a blockchain-based replication of the agency\u2019s current database. <\/p>\n
The California DMV\u2019s chief digital officer Ajay Gupta told Fortune on Jan. 26 that the agency is looking to have the shadow ledger ironed out within the next three months.<\/p>\n
Following on from that, it is looking to roll out applications such as digital wallets to hold and transfer NFT car titles, with the DMV acting as a middleman to oversee such operations. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe DMV\u2019s perception of lagging behind should definitely change,\u201d Gupta told Forbes.<\/p>\n
Oxhead Alpha\u2019s president Andrew Smith outlined that the California DMV\u2019s blockchain initiative will serve a wide range of use cases for the agency, particularly concerning the modernization of its current paper-based systems. <\/p>\n
Smith highlighted examples such as transaction fraud, in which car sellers hide key information about the vehicle’s condition to offload a dud or \u201clemon\u201d onto unsuspecting buyers. <\/p>\n
While faulty vehicles have a special designation on their titles in California, Smith noted that sellers can move the car over to another state and hide the faulty designations with relative ease. <\/p>\n
With the use of blockchain-based record keeping, however, and with other DMVs potentially adopting the tech also, it would be much easier to digital track the actual history of vehicles, Smith suggested. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as the benefit for having a persistent digital title, this is a very obvious use case,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Commenting on why Tezos was a good fit for the DMV, Smith outlined in the firm\u2019s Jan. 25 announcement that the blockchain \u201csolves some of the really hard problems in blockchain in an elegant way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe combination of responsible consensus, on-chain governance, and institutional grade security makes Tezos a great platform for delivering production-ready solutions,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n