Blockchain platform for companies Hedera Hashgraph has presented the Texan Foreign Minister with a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) that shows the potential of blockchain technology for issuing, securing and reviewing documents.
The PoC was a collaboration with content service provider Hyland and was led by the Texas Blockchain Council, which announced the company on January 11th.
The focus is on a system for issuing electronic apostilles. An apostille is a method of verifying the authenticity of seals and signatures on government-issued documents.
An apostilled document is internationally recognized as legally valid in the 118 countries that are parties to the Apostille Convention, which originally dates back to 1961.
There is no indication that such a proof-of-concept was requested, and although Cointelegraph had asked the Texas Foreign Minister’s office for comment, no response had been received at the time of publication.
The Texas Blockchain Council was founded in 2020 with the aim of developing the state into a blockchain-friendly jurisdiction. They want to both promote the use of the technology in local companies and promote the state as a location for existing blockchain companies and investors.
Hedera Hashgraph has built a strong presence in the state. CEO Mance Harmon explains:
“We’re excited to show the Texas Secretary of State and Hyland how blockchain / public ledgers are enabling government agencies to cost-effectively deliver next-generation services to their constituents.”
A Bitcoin (BTC) mining company in the area has made a decent profit by selling electricity back to the grid on days when the outside temperature makes mining financially impractical.