RENO, Nev. (AP) — Some northern Nevada counties are using blockchain, the online ledger best known for helping secure virtual currencies like bitcoin, to store digital versions of government records like birth and marriage certificates.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that in Washoe County, about 950 couples received secure digital marriage certificates to home computers and smartphones between April and December 2018.
The newspaper found that Elko County is trying similar technology for certified digital birth certificates.
Phil Dhingra at San Francisco-based Titan Seal says blockchain has computing power that makes it hard to hack.
Today, everyone who gets a paper marriage certificate in Reno also gets a free certified digital copy — sometimes in less than 24 hours.
That's because state law says the county can't charge separately for a certified digital copy.
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
