The Singapore firm using blockchain tech to build a smart city

Singaporean startup Limestone Network is looking to transform the face of Southeast Asia by building smart cities powered by blockchain technology – starting with an ambitious 100-hectare mixed-use development project in the heart of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

Photo credit: Dmitry A. Mottl

Spanning residential homes, office buildings, shopping malls, schools, and a massive exhibition hall, the privately backed project will affect 10,000 business tenants and a daily population of 190,000 people.

The idea was first conceived three years ago by 39-year-old tech entrepreneur Eddie Lee and his real estate developer friend. Eager to tap the possibilities of blockchain technology, they took on the challenge of building an entire smart city.

“Most cities try to become smart cities by installing hardware like sensors and cameras, but our starting point begins with the software,” said Lee, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner. “Building on a hybrid blockchain infrastructure, the smart city collects information through residents’ multiple daily touch points. These create an understanding of how the city moves, lives, and functions.”

With a startup capital of S$1.5 million (US$1.1 million), they officially established Limestone Network in December 2018, naming it after one of the ancient Egyptian civilizations that used limestone as one of its main building materials.

“People come up with a lot of fanciful and futuristic names for blockchain, but we wanted a name that traces back to the roots of how things are traditionally built,” said Lee, who is also the vice president of the Singapore FinTech Association.

How it works

The first step for the Phnom Penh smart city project is to create a digital passport, which involves registering all residents and workers in the Limestone mobile app.

The identification details are then scanned against global databases to check for any criminal records. Once cleared, the residents’ identities are mapped onto the blockchain network.

A verified digital passport unlocks Limestone’s full features for citizens, one of which is a digital wallet on their phones. This allows residents to pay for purchases digitally, much like how Alibaba’s Alipay operates. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

People can also move around different buildings freely by just tapping in and out, which forms part of the digital persona of their activities.

The idea was giving the power back to consumers, Lee said. With permission-based blockchain, residents have control of their data and can decide to whom they give their personal information to.

This concept of data portability plays a huge part in how the city improves the daily lives of residents, explains the co-founder.

For instance, telecommunications companies looking to woo customers to sign up for an account can directly reward them – without the need to pay middlemen like advertising agencies – and “port over” their personal data within a matter of minutes, skipping the hassle of multiple registrations.

Potentials and pitfalls

The governance challenge