Blockchain as a tool for land rights: ownership of land in Cyprus

Purpose This paper aims to set out an argument for the use of blockchain technology as a land registration tool, for Cyprus and other disputed land contexts, to assist with land disputes, which may, in turn, promote peace and harmony. Design/methodology/approach The paper is exploratory in nature. It raises the historical and present land issues in Cyprus and highlights that blockchain technologies could work as a tool to record disputed property rights on the Island. Findings While there have been many pilots to date for blockchain land registration, there is still scope to develop blockchain as a tool to record land interests. Cyprus offers an exemplar opportunity to use such a tool to assist in developing peace on the Island. Originality/value While the paper is conceptual in its application of blockchain technologies, it is novel in that it strives to show how technologies such as blockchain can act as a tool to assist with land registration matters, which, in turn, can assist with new ways to approach the peace process. More research is necessary for this area of inquiry, especially as to how sidechains can act as a conduit for recording competing land interests and disputed land claims.