The growth of government-backed and supported blockchain projects has made leaps and bounds across the globe. As governing bodies understand the potential this technology holds to improve a number of different sectors, support is encouraging.
At the end of last year, Slovenia became the first Member State of the EU to establish a blockchain test infrastructure. The infrastructure is similar to China’s national blockchain initiative. China has become a world leader in the development of blockchain, with Slovenia and SIChain a very close second.
SIChain was established by the innovative technology company Hashnet in cooperation with Telemach, a telecommunication solutions provider. The technology will initially facilitate transactions and the creation of smart contracts. Hashnet technology is also one of the fastest and most energy-efficient distributed ledger technologies created.
Understanding SIChain
SIChain’s goal is nothing less than putting the country’s government, corporate, and residential communities on the blockchain. To date, no tech company has been this ambitious on a national level. SIChain also has the support of the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.
Tadej Slapnik, managing director of Hashnet Slovenia, expands on the objectives: “The ambition is to integrate technology into the business models of companies and public services, with the highest possible range, and high-speed transactions.”
Since its launch in January of 2020, the team has been productive. It has already launched its first application, 4thtech’s eDelivery. eDelivery is a service that allows the secure and reliable exchange of documents and data across borders and sectors. While this may sound like “Docusign on the Blockchain,” eDelivery determines the technical specifications for any document policy in the EU, i.e. Justice, Bussiness, Consumer Protection, etc. 4thtech’s eDelivery could soon be powering document and data transmission behind the scenes.
SIChain Uses
SIChain is designed to be used with smart contracts. While smart contracts have not been widely implemented in our everyday lives, this may soon change for those living in Slovenia. SIChain’s use of Hashnet means it is not only faster than Ethereum but more flexible and energy-efficient. While Ethereum transactions can take over a minute, SIChain transactions are confirmed in less than 12 seconds. The use cases for a faster, more robust smart contract blockchain are nearly limitless. Anything requiring an official stamp or notary could be verified on SIChain:
- Marriage certificates
- Passports
- ID Cards
- Property Deeds
- Rent/Mortgage Payments
- Official Government Contracts
Importance of a European Blockchain Services Infrastructure
The EU is a special case in regards to regulations. That is, it is a collective zone that shares many advances between its member states. The continued growth in the blockchain sector has launched the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure whose aim is to “deliver EU-wide cross-border public services using blockchain technology.”
A collaboration between government and blockchain technology is uncommon. By leveraging its strong development team and municipal connections, the SIChain group has a distinct first-mover advantage in a space populated by half-baked ideas and lackluster competition. We will be keeping a close eye on SIChain and delving deeper into how this project is piloting more comprehensive national infrastructure technology.
