Instant Property Network Welcomes Barclays and RBS to Real Estate Sales Blockchain Trial

Bitcoin has come with many benefits, but the technology has become adaptable to be integrated into other industries as well.

The Instant Property Network recently developed a platform that is still in the trial stage, but it would reduce the amount of time that buying a house can take by months. If it ends up implemented around the world, it stands to save this industry around $160 billion. In a report from Bloomberg, the company reveals that Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, and Clifford Chance LLP were part of a group of companies testing the platform.

If this platform manages to succeed, then their progress will be a great example of the way that blockchain can be used for consumer products. The majority of projects handled through banks have been based on loans or trading.

However, the director for mortgage innovation at RBS, Dan Salmons, told Bloomberg that the industry is getting towards “the end of the hype cycle.” At this point, Salmons believes there has not been a major use case in their industry for blockchain tech until now.

Most real estate transactions involve multiple third parties that have to provide information, which means that the arrangements cost more and more money. Blockchain technology ensures that there is no duplication and that information is already secure and trustworthy because of the ledger.

John Stecher, the head of Barclays’ group innovation office in New York, explained that there are multiple interactions and businesses and even government entities that get tied into a real estate purchase. However, the point of establishing this type of system is “to simplify the purchasing process for the customer.”

At this point, IPN is working to develop a group of the trial participants, along with more firms, to finally make this platform available to the public, according to CEO John Reynolds. Multiple entities will be able to work on the same transaction at once while keeping an eye on the process in real time.

Based on the details available from Bloomberg, the next version will be officially available in September.