Bitnation, a governance service that provides block chain IDs and bitcoin debit cards to refugees, has teamed with the government of Estonia to provide public notary services on the block chain, according to the International Business Times. Beginning in December, people utilizing Estonia’s e-residency program will be able to notarize marriages, contracts, birth certificates and more on the block chain. Estonia’s e-residency program allows anyone to use its online identity service, regardless where they live.
The partnership could extend Bitnation’s role as a sovereign entity whereby open source protocol provides a sovereign jurisdiction.
Susanne Templehof, Bitnation CEO and founder, said in an email to International Business Times that Bitnation’s ultimate goal is to achieve recognition as a sovereign entity, creating a precedent for open source protocol. Bitnation is currently working to remove borders for people affected by the current refugee crisis.
Bitnation’s and Estonia e-residency services overlap in some areas.
The Estonian e-residency service is a transnational digital identification card available to anyone. The e-residency ID card is a smart card that provides digital identification, digital signing of documents, digital verification of document authenticity and document encryption, according to its website . It does not confer citizenship, tax residency or right of entry to any nation.
Bitnation’s Blockchain Emergency ID provides emergency identification for people who cannot obtain other identification documents. It allows people to record their existence and family relations on the Horizon block chain. The identification form creates a QR code that can be used with a cell phone to apply for a bitcoin Visa card that can be used without a bank account in Europe.
Bitnation provides “DIY (do it yourself) governance services” and has provided refugee emergency response and global citizenship ID on the block chain.
According to thefuturescenter , Janina Lowisz became the first “World Citizen On the Blockchain” using Bitnation to record her identification. Thefuturescenter is a website for Forum for the Future, a non-profit organization working to solve complex sustainability challenges.
Under the Bitnation/Estonia e-residency partnership, e-residence card holders will be able to use Bitnation’s public notary service.
Estonia believes that people should be able to choose the digital/public services that fit them best, regardless of where they were born, said Kaspar Korjus, the country’s e-residency director.
If a couple marries on the Public Notary, it doesn’t signify a marriage in Estonia or any nation. It signifies a marriage in the “block chain jurisdiction.” The block chain provides a global, legally-binding proof of contractual agreements for activities such as banking and incorporations. The block chain provides such services cheaply and fast, thereby empowering citizens and entrepreneurs.
Bitnation’s Templehof said Estonia’s government understands globalization era dynamics better than any government she is aware of.
Estonia’s e-residency program sets a global standard of competition for governance services and that others can follow Bitnation’s “path to sovereignty,” she said.
Templehof said in many countries, gay marriage is illegal. The block chain, by comparison, does not care about this.
Images from Shutterstock, Bitnation & LinkedIn.