Moscow Farmers to be Granted an Opportunity to Use Ethereum Blockchain

Market season in Moscow is a very important event. It gathers thousands of farmers from Russia, Armenia, and other countries, who compete for 2,736 trading spots. Due to various farmers’ complaints about the application review system, Moscow’s authorities have decided to implement the Ethereum Blockchain.

"We believe that farmers should have a transparent system to see why their application is declined or approved. Blockchain is to make sure that the process is fully transparent and no one can alter an application. We hope that blockchain will provide full transparency for everyone," Andrey Belozerov, the strategy and innovations advisor to Moscow City Hall's CIO commented. 

Market Season 

The farmer’s market is usually visited by many people and the local authorities provide them with the best products from the best sellers. It means there are many farmers who want to get an official permission for selling their goods, however, the number of market stalls are limited. Contenders from Russia as well as from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan must submit an application to get a booth. When the application is approved, a merchant gets its booth. 

The current application review system leaves many contestants displeased and disappointed. They don’t actually know how the system works and why they were granted a permission or left behind. 

Fintech Solution 

To solve the problem, Moscow’s government decided to implement the ethereum blockchain for distribution of trading stalls. There are 2,736 trade spots available for the market season that lasts from mid-April till late November. However, there are even more applicants for these spots. The total number exceeds 20,000 papers every year. 

According to the local authorities, the fintech system will register all applications handed over and update the information on those who were given access or were turned down. Ethereum blockchain is transparent and immutable, that ensures fairness of each pick. 

“With the Ethereum blockchain, the entire data set is publicly viewable, transparent, and available for download. In this case, the submission time can be confirmed, and the application cannot be deleted or changed once it is submitted,” Moscow’s government explained.

The crypto community met the initiative with enthusiasm as it would potentially be able to promote transparency and fairness in the market. 

George Goognin, Global Ambassador at the Mile Unity Foundation aimed to educate the community about new technologies and tools for the global retail, b2b and intergovernmental (g2g) payments, and Vice-Chairman of Expert Council on digital economy and blockchain technology at the Russian State Duma, shared his idea with Coinidol:

"I think it's a great step towards creating more transparent government and city resource management. And it's okay to use Ethereum network for the pilot project. But Moscow Government is got to be cautious about the possible transaction delays due to the Crypto Kitties or popular ICOs, which could clog the network at any given moment. So, it will be better to discover and use a faster blockchain network."