New Jersey is undergoing a large-scale digital transformation of its property record system, led by real estate infrastructure firm Balcony. 

Balcony signed a five-year agreement with the Bergen County Clerk’s Office to migrate more than 370,000 property records onto a blockchain infrastructure built using AvaCloud on Avalanche (AVAX). 

The records represent approximately $240 billion in real estate, according to Avalanche. 

The project is part of a broader effort to modernize outdated public record systems, which have long relied on paper-based processes and legacy software.

By transitioning to a blockchain-based system, officials aim to reduce fraud, shorten deed settlement times from months to a single day, and make public records searchable, verifiable, and resistant to manipulation.

Ransomware attacks in local government

The effort comes amid a rising number of ransomware attacks on local governments. In 2023, 23 municipalities in New Jersey reported experiencing cyberattacks, with some incurring recovery costs of up to $1 million, according to the Avalance.

Blockchain-based recordkeeping is being positioned as a more secure and efficient alternative.

The initiative is already expanding beyond Bergen County. Municipalities including Camden, Orange, Morristown, and Fort Lee are adopting or rolling out similar systems, collectively covering over 460,000 properties and an estimated $290 billion in real estate.

In Orange, the updated system reportedly helped uncover nearly $1 million in previously uncollected tax income. This marks one of the largest public-sector blockchain deployments in the U.S. to date.