We take a look at what managed blockchain is, its advantages, and its role in shaping the future of distributed ledger technology. We also explore key AWS managed blockchain services and their features, and find out how blockchain can be used to prevent land grabbing.
In the quiet state of Salamia, nestled amidst rolling hills and lush forests, a new chapter was about to unfold. The residents of the state had long lived in the shadow of a previous regime that had left behind a legacy of misdeeds and mistrust. However, hope blossomed as a new chief minister, Naresh Pamnani, assumed power with a determination to rectify past wrongs.
Naresh was a visionary leader, armed with a keen intellect and a heart fuelled by justice. From the moment he took office, he had a clear goal in mind: to tackle the pervasive issue of land grabbing that had plagued Salamia for years. Rumours had circulated about the lands being unfairly taken from rightful owners, leaving families displaced and communities torn apart.
With a team of technologists, legal experts, and community leaders by his side, Naresh introduced an innovative solution to the age-old problem – a blockchain-based land registry system. This system aimed to ensure the accuracy, transparency, and immutability of land ownership records.
Initially the people of Salamia were sceptical. But Naresh was relentless in his pursuit of justice. He launched a grassroots campaign, visiting villages, holding town hall meetings, and listening to the stories of those who had suffered due to land grabs. His empathy and determination resonated with the people, and slowly, their scepticism began to wane.
The blockchain-based land registry system was rolled out with great care and meticulous planning. Every land parcel in Salamia was digitised and represented as a unique digital token on the blockchain. The state’s residents could access this decentralised ledger and verify ownership records themselves, eliminating the need for intermediaries and reducing the risk of fraud.
Smart contracts were introduced to automate land transactions. These contracts would hold funds in escrow until all conditions were met, ensuring that transactions were fair, secure, and free from manipulation. Community members actively participated in the process, ensuring that the system truly served their needs.
As the months went by, the impact of Naresh’s initiative became evident. Families were able to reclaim their ancestral lands, long lost to unscrupulous practices. Communities that had once been divided found themselves united by a shared hope for justice. The once-sceptical residents of the state now saw Naresh as a beacon of change, a leader who had turned their hopes into reality.
News of Salamia’s success story spread far and wide, inspiring neighbouring states and even cities to consider similar blockchain-based solutions for land management. Blockchain had woven a tapestry of trust, enabling a new era of prosperity and unity.
Blockchain technology has been making waves in various industries, promising transparency, security, and efficiency in record-keeping and transactions. However, implementing and managing a blockchain network can be a complex and resource-intensive endeavour. To address these challenges, managed blockchain services have emerged, offering businesses a simplified and efficient way to harness the power of blockchain technology.
Managed blockchain
Managed blockchain is a cloud-based service that provides businesses with a fully managed infrastructure to deploy, operate, and scale blockchain networks without the need for extensive in-house expertise. These services are offered by major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and IBM Cloud, among others.
Key components of managed blockchain
Network management: Managed blockchain services provide a user-friendly interface for creating and managing blockchain networks. Users can set up their networks, define permissions, and configure nodes without delving into the intricacies of blockchain technology.
Node management: Users can easily add or remove nodes from their blockchain network, ensuring scalability as their needs evolve. This eliminates the need for manual node maintenance and reduces downtime.
Security and identity management: Managed blockchain platforms integrate robust security features, including identity and access management, to protect sensitive data and transactions. This reduces the risk of unauthorised access and fraud.
Chaincode (smart contracts) deployment: Users can deploy smart contracts on their blockchain networks effortlessly. These self-executing contracts automate complex processes, improving efficiency and reducing the potential for human error.
Monitoring and analytics: Managed blockchain services offer real-time monitoring and analytics tools, allowing users to gain insights into network performance, transaction history, and overall health.
Advantages of managed blockchain
Reduced complexity: One of the primary advantages of managed blockchain is its ability to abstract the complexity of blockchain technology. This makes it accessible to a broader range of businesses, even those without extensive IT resources or blockchain expertise.
Cost-efficiency: These services typically operate on a pay-as-you-go model, reducing upfront infrastructure costs. Businesses can scale resources up or down based on demand, optimising their spending.
Rapid deployment: Setting up a blockchain network through a managed service is significantly faster than building one from scratch. This allows businesses to quickly experiment with blockchain applications and respond to market demands promptly.
Scalability: Managed blockchain services offer seamless scalability, ensuring that businesses can adapt to increased transaction volumes and network growth without disruption.
Robust security: Leading cloud providers invest heavily in security measures, making managed blockchain networks highly secure. This reduces the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access.
Compliance and governance: These blockchain platforms often include tools for setting up governance models and ensuring compliance with industry-specific regulations.
Needless to say, managed blockchain has found applications in various industries, including supply chain management, financial services, healthcare, retail, energy, etc.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a robust suite of managed blockchain services that allow organisations to easily create, deploy, and manage blockchain networks without the complexities typically associated with setting up and maintaining such networks. These services are designed to help businesses harness the power of blockchain technology for various use cases, including supply chain management, financial services, healthcare, and more.
Let’s explore the key AWS managed blockchain services and their features.
Amazon Managed Blockchain
Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) is one of the core blockchain services offered by AWS. It allows users to create and manage scalable blockchain networks using popular open source frameworks like Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum. AMB takes care of the underlying infrastructure and offers features such as network setup, member management, security, and monitoring.
Ease of setup: Amazon Managed Blockchain simplifies the process of creating a blockchain network, allowing users to set up a network with just a few clicks through the AWS management console.
Network management: Users can create and manage multiple blockchain networks, each with its own set of members and policies.
Security: The service integrates with AWS identity and access management (IAM) to control access to resources securely. It also allows for encryption of data in transit and at rest.
Scalability: Amazon Managed Blockchain can automatically scale to accommodate changes in network activity and transaction volume, ensuring high availability.
Monitoring and analytics: The service provides real-time monitoring and insights into the performance of the blockchain network, helping users identify and address issues quickly.
Smart contracts: It supports the deployment of smart contracts (Chaincode for Hyperledger Fabric and Solidity for Ethereum) to automate business processes.
Integration: Amazon Managed Blockchain can be integrated with other AWS services like Amazon S3, AWS Lambda, and Amazon CloudWatch for building comprehensive blockchain applications.
Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (Amazon QLDB)
While not a traditional blockchain, Amazon QLDB is a fully managed ledger database service designed to provide a transparent and immutable journal for tracking changes to data over time. Key features of Amazon QLDB include:
Immutable ledger: It maintains an immutable and tamper-evident record of all changes made to data, making it suitable for applications that require a transparent and auditable data history.
Data verification: The service provides cryptographic verification of data integrity, ensuring that data remains unchanged and can be trusted.
SQL-like queries: Users can query the ledger using a familiar SQL-like language, simplifying data retrieval and analysis.
Managed service: QLDB is fully managed by AWS, reducing operational overhead, and making it easy to scale as needed.
Integration: It can be integrated with other AWS services and applications to create comprehensive data-driven solutions.
AWS blockchain templates
AWS provides templates for popular blockchain frameworks, such as Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric, to help users quickly deploy and configure blockchain networks on AWS infrastructure. These templates simplify the setup process.
Amazon Managed Blockchain for Ethereum
This service is specifically designed for Ethereum-based blockchain networks. It offers Ethereum-compatible APIs, smart contract support, and simplified management of Ethereum nodes.
Amazon Managed Blockchain for Hyperledger Fabric
This service is tailored for Hyperledger Fabric-based blockchain networks. It provides tools for creating, configuring, and managing Hyperledger Fabric nodes and networks.
Amazon Aurora with Amazon QLDB integration
AWS offers integration between Amazon Aurora (a relational database service) and Amazon QLDB, allowing businesses to create hybrid applications that combine the benefits of traditional databases with the immutability of ledger technology.
Ethereum on AWS
Ethereum’s versatility has led to its widespread adoption for various use cases, including decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), supply chain management, identity verification, and more. However, as with any technology, it’s important to understand its capabilities and limitations before building or investing in projects on the Ethereum blockchain.
Key features of the Ethereum blockchain
Ethereum is a decentralised, open source blockchain platform that enables the creation and execution of smart contracts and decentralised applications (DApps). It was proposed in late 2013 by Vitalik Buterin and development began in early 2014, with the mainnet (live blockchain network) launched on July 30, 2015. The key features of the Ethereum blockchain include:
Smart contracts: Ethereum introduced the concept of smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. These contracts automatically execute when specific conditions are met, without the need for intermediaries.
Decentralised applications (DApps): Ethereum allows developers to build decentralised applications on its platform. These DApps can serve a wide range of purposes, from financial services to gaming and more. They are typically open source and operate on the blockchain, providing transparency and security.
Ether (ETH): Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network. It is used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the platform. It’s also often seen as a digital asset and investment.
Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs): Ethereum supports the creation of DAOs, which are organisations run by code and the consensus of their members. They can make decisions and manage funds autonomously, based on the rules defined in their smart contracts.
Consensus mechanism: Ethereum currently operates on a proof of stake (PoS) consensus mechanism known as Ethereum 2.0 (Eth2). This is an upgrade from the original proof of work (PoW) mechanism, which is still used in Ethereum 1.0. Eth2 aims to improve scalability, security, and energy efficiency.
EVM and Solidity: Ethereum introduced the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), a runtime environment that enables smart contracts to be executed. Solidity is the most commonly used programming language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum.
Interoperability: Ethereum has supported the development of various standards and protocols, such as ERC-20 (fungible tokens) and ERC-721 (non-fungible tokens), which have contributed to the growth of the blockchain ecosystem.
Upgrades: Ethereum is continually evolving. Major upgrades are being rolled out to address scalability, security, and sustainability challenges.
It’s important to note that Ethereum, like other blockchains, requires participants (nodes) to validate transactions and maintain the network. This decentralised nature helps ensure security, censorship resistance, and immutability of the blockchain’s data.
In order to work with Ethereum on AWS, we may consider using Amazon Managed Ethereum (AME) or deploying our Ethereum nodes manually on AWS services such as EC2 instances or Kubernetes clusters.
Amazon Managed Ethereum (AME)
AME is a fully managed Ethereum service provided by AWS. It is designed to simplify the deployment and management of Ethereum infrastructure.
It allows the creation of Ethereum networks quickly without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. We can use AME to deploy Ethereum nodes, interact with smart contracts, and build decentralised applications (DApps) on the Ethereum network.
Solution for land grabbing prevention
Blockchain technology, when used in conjunction with legal and societal reforms, can help mitigate land grabbing by increasing transparency, improving property record management, and enhancing trust. Let us see how Ethereum blockchain technology can contribute to the prevention of land grabbing.
Immutable land records: Ethereum’s blockchain offers immutability, meaning that once data is recorded on the blockchain, it is extremely difficult to alter or delete it. Land records stored on Ethereum can provide a tamper-resistant history of ownership and transactions, reducing the risk of fraudulent changes to land titles.
Transparent land registries: Using Ethereum-based smart contracts, governments or organisations can create transparent land registries that are accessible to the public.
Identity verification: Implementing a blockchain-based identity verification system can ensure that only legitimate property owners or authorised parties can initiate land transactions. This can reduce the chances of unauthorised land sales.
Smart contracts for transactions: Ethereum’s smart contracts can be used to automate and validate land transactions. When a transaction is initiated, the smart contract can verify the legitimacy of the buyer and seller, and ensure that all legal requirements are met before transferring ownership.
Timestamping and notarisation: Blockchain can be used for timestamping and notarisation of land-related documents, creating a provable history of documents related to land transactions.
Community involvement: Blockchain can facilitate community involvement and consensus in land management decisions. Community members can collectively validate and approve land transactions to prevent unilateral decisions that may lead to land grabbing.
Legal and regulatory frameworks: While blockchain can provide technical solutions, it must be integrated into a supportive legal and regulatory framework. Governments and authorities should recognise blockchain-based land records and transactions as legally binding.
It’s important to recognise that blockchain technology is not a silver bullet for preventing land grabbing. It should be part of a broader strategy that includes legal reforms, community engagement, and good governance practices. Additionally, blockchain systems should be designed with careful consideration of privacy, security, and scalability to be effective in land management.
