It would seem that since a new president, known for his positive attitude toward cryptocurrencies, has taken power in Colombia, blockchain projects face a better future. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ripple has just seen the failure of a venture that was supposed to support local land registration.
Ripple Labs in trouble in Colombia
The change of power currently taking place in Colombia has had a significant impact on Ripple’s plans and operations. Until now, the company, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information Technology, has been tasked with registering land rights on the blockchain. The new political dynamic, associating this solution with the previous government, decided to suspend the venture.
Its original goal was to end the unfair distribution of land in the country. Among the reasons for this was the long and devastating civil war. The peace agreement jointly signed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Colombian government in 2016 includes new provisions to redistribute land to marginalized indigenous communities. This process required dedicated court rulings.
Seeing some opportunities here, Ripple Labs partnered with software company Peersyst. The company’s blockchain integration was to make visible the land deeds granted by these courts.
New power, new hand
In a recent article, titled “Columbia to counter citizen tax evasion with national digital currency: Report,” we indicated that President Gustavo Petro is a supporter of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market. However, it turns out that not all solutions suit his administration. The interim head of Colombia’s Earth Agency indicated in a statement that cooperation with Ripple Labs is not a priority for the current year. It is not even included among the strategic projects for the Colombian Department of Information Technology.
The newly elected president is thus betting on his own land reform. Under it, the state will seize or purchase unused or illegally used land to later allocate to farmers.
Only one registered property by Ripple
There are many indications that Ripple will be forced to end its efforts to register land, within Colombia. The previous president, as part of his efforts for the National Land Fund, managed to collect 1,700,000 hectares. In doing so, he enabled local communities to cultivate that land. As it turns out, just one property nearly 500 kilometers away from Bogotá has been registered in the blockchain space with the cooperation of Ripple.
