Idaho City Inks Development Deal with Blockchain Startup

The municipal government for Idaho's state capital, Boise, has inked a deal aimed at exploring public-sector blockchain use cases.

According to an announcement, the Boise government is to work alongside local blockchain company ULedger in a joint endeavor expected to experiment with various use cases for the technology within the city's technological infrastructure.

Home to just 225,000 residents, Boise claims it is one of the first city governments to move toward implementing blockchain technology in a public and direct way.

Darrin Harris, who serves as the city's chief information officer, said in a statement:

"Blockchain is a transformative technology and through our relationship with ULedger, we are excited to become one of the first city governments to bring blockchain, and its many benefits to practice. We are looking to ULedger, and its stateless blockchain protocol to mitigate data and security risks, improve data integrity and continuity, streamline process and deliver a first in class experience to the citizens of Boise."

Though an early mover within the U.S., other municipalities throughout the world have looked to blockchain for possible uses.

In China, for example, a local government used a prototype blockchain-based voting solution in June to support one of its elections. And, back in March, Dubai announced new partnerships as part of its plan to put all government documents onto blockchain systems by 2020.

Boise on the map image via Shutterstock