Working alongside global tech giant Microsoft and ethereum-focused startup ConsenSys, Brazil's Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management is piloting a blockchain identity application.

Leveraging technology provided by ConsenSys affiliate project uPort – a "self-sovereign"' identity system built on ethereum that allows users access and control over their own data – the agency is testing how the technology could be used to verify the legitimacy of personal documents.

In statements, Adriane Medeiros Melo, head of information technology at the ministry, framed the trial as one that would help the organization test the potential of blockchain technologies, as well as to "establish a new trust model between government and society."

Formed in 1962, the Ministry of Planning's mission is to coordinate the management of federal government policies and budgets. As such, its investigation falls in line with the wider investigation of blockchain for record-keeping ongoing at institutions globally.

In recent weeks, government agencies as diverse as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Britain's Innovate UK have announced similar projects aimed at boosting local blockchain development.

Brazil map via Shutterstock