Moscow to Develop a Blockchain System for Transparent City Services

Russia’s capital is looking for a contractor to build a blockchain system to host the city’s administrative services.

Open Media reports that Moscow’s Information Technologies Department has announced an auction to build an ethereum-based system that will host the electronic services now offered to Muscovites. The estimated cost of development is stated as 57 million Russian rubles, or around $860,000.

The list of services to be hosted on the platform includes issuance of documents relating to property owners and residents, and allocation of slots at the city’s farmers markets. The system is to be based on proof-of-authority consensus and have a maximum capacity of 1.5 million simultaneous viewers.

Building the platform is expected take 60 days once the contractor has been chosen and the agreement signed, according to the terms. The IT Department said it aims to increase public confidence in Moscow’s electronic services by boosting transparency using blockchain.

The platform is also to be integrated with other blockchain experiments currently undertaken by the Moscow city government, including a voting platform dubbed Active Citizen that lets Moscow residents express preferences on matters such as locations for new bike paths and street decoration, or rating city events.

The city has been testing Active Citizen since 2017. There’s also a plan to allow a number of districts to vote electronically during this autumn’s city legislature elections, also using blockchain tech, according to an official announcement. The option will be available to approximately 6 percent of voters.

Another trial, a system for assigning spots at the city’s farmers market on the ethereum blockchain, was launched in 2018, CoinDesk reported at the time. Over 2,700 trading stands during the April to November market season are normally up for grabs, but about 20,000 people usually bid.

Moscow image via Shutterstock