After 20 months of research and development, this week well-known technologist David Schranz and businessman Anthony Mamo launched the first locally built distributed ledger application targeted at property transfer management, LP 01, through their newly established company, 'Ledger Projects'.

"Blockchains are not merely a business opportunity, but a way to change how governments serve their citizens and how private companies serve their clients. The main priorities should be regulation and incentives to attract the right capital and talent to stimulate growth in this sector," Schranz said.

The launch took place during a morning presentation at the Westin Dragonara during which the company also launched its first Blockchain application.

"Rolling out such technology as bock chain is easier in Malta", said the two entrepreneurs, "since the country enjoys a strong financial system, talent, entrepreneurial spirit and a can-do approach that can turn our island into a base and a test-bed for new sectors and technologies. Malta has become a centre of excellence with an enviable reputation in many sectors, and not only ones that are ICT related. The formula, so to speak, is already tried and tested and can therefore be replicated in other areas such as block chain."

Speaking about the main advantages of blockchain, David Schranz explained how the technology enables any two parties to make an exchange without the oversight or intermediation of a third party, strongly reducing or even eliminating counterparty risk. "This means that the users are in control of all their information and transactions. Furthermore, when using blockchain one can claim that data is complete, consistent, timely, accurate and widely available."

The team at Ledger Projects is being mentored by Dr Abdalla Kablan, who is a widely respected fintech expert and data scientist. Dr Kablan has always been at the forefront of disruptive technology and is considered a renowned entrepreneur and published academic. His interdisciplinary background in fintech and machine learning has been paramount to his international success, and Ledger Projects is delighted that he has mentored the team academically.

Speaking about Ledger Projects' first product LP 01, Schranz said: "We have been focused on researching, developing and testing LP 01 for the past 20 months. The design process was somewhat difficult because we wanted to ensure that we would be able to scale horizontally within reasonable time-frames. During this time we also focused on identifying immediate opportunities where DLT could bring tangible benefits to multiple users and the plan is to deploy another two applications at six-month intervals."

Referring to the people at Ledger Projects, Schranz added: "the team is small but very diverse, and consists of people with very different skillsets and backgrounds. We have managed to attract people who are academics, technologists with a passion for innovation and people with a strong legal background. We are also fortunate enough to be able - from time to time - to involve people with experience in a particular field to explain inefficiencies in their business process and provide feedback to our proposed solutions."