[retrac]

What happens when the blockchain does not reflect the actual legal situation of ownership? For example, assuming a classic blockchain model where my property deed is given to me as a private key, and I have to sign the transaction to transfer the property, what happens when I lose the key and yet the city has expropriated my lot to build a park? This seems to require the authorities to have some kind of master key or ability to retroactively edit the blockchain. Which negates much of the security advantage of a blockchain model?

[e3bc54b2]

I suppose the answer to that would be to treat blockchain as the record of truth.

Kind of how if you have properly motorized property papers (I have no idea how this works in US), and find your land was inappropriately allocated by county without your knowledge you get to sue them, just with block chain record instead of paper.

[rjmunro]

But what if the key is lost? No one could update the blockchain. The property would become impossible to own.