• Among other things, the network will make it possible to launch a secure and regulated digital identification system for any individual or company.

• Lyra is the first network of its kind in the world, as no multisector network exists with a shared digital workspace.

Madrid, 31 May, 2017

A multisector consortium of Spanish companies which are pioneers in their different industries has created the Red Lyra, the first multisector technology platform in the world based on blockchain or distributed ledger technologies. Lyra will develop new systems and services so that any individual or company in Spain, for instance, can identify itself digitally in a secure manner, among other things. The first service of Lyra is expected to be operational in the next few months. The goal is for any company to be able to use the network to validate basic services and to develop applications in a transversal environment with full legal guarantees in Spain.

Lyra was born as a result of the drive of its founding partners, which comprise companies from every industry, professionals, such as notaries and lawyers, and experts in blockchain technology. Its founding members are, in alphabetical order: Banco Sabadell, Banco Santander, Bankia, BBVA, BME, Caja Rural, Cajamar, Cepsa, Correos, Ejaso, Endesa, Everis, Garrigues, Gas Natural Fenosa, Grant Thornton, Iberdrola, Icade, MásMóvil, Momopocket, Notarnet, Roca Junyent and Scytl. The Network has been presented today at the University Pontificia Comillas, with the support of the Comillas-Everis Fintech Observatory.

Lyra is a transversal, multisector and nonpartisan initiative open to growth. Therefore, any company, administration, start-up, freelance professional or other not-for-profit entity can join at any time to develop projects and to provide services.

One of the network’s main priorities will be to create a digital identity system based on smart contracts. This system will make it possible to save all of the elements needed to identify people and companies in a secure manner, as well as to operate and to apply digital signatures legally. Spanish notaries will be able to certify and validate that the digital identity in Lyra matches a real identity, and they will even make it possible to recover the identity if necessary.

In addition to the mechanism of legal guarantee, Lyra provides greater security through partners who act as ‘nodes’, i.e. users who validate the activity, assuring that it is always solid and reliable. “Partners admitted subsequently can also have access to a node, which will add more details to a user’s identity. For example, in addition to my customer file, there may be a factual and exhaustive log of my transactions with all the companies in the network”, Alex Puig, director of Red Lyra, explains.

A transversal network which is helpful for everyone

Identifying natural persons and legal entities in Red Lyra eliminates many enterprise processes, such as the arrival of new customers to a bank or an electricity company, but it also facilitates common transactions, for instance, between public sector agencies and citizens: “The project is inclusive and democratic because the members of the network are the ones who decide its future and ensure that no single member has full control. It is a consortium, a collaborative network, helpful for everyone”, Puig stresses.

Thus, “Lyra is set up as a semi-public and authorised network for blockchain technology in Spain and is a global pioneer, as no project has existed previously where so many companies collaborate to design such an ambitious digital work space”, Alex Puig asserts. Lyra is a shared network for developing projects and providing

services which has all the required identification guarantees and will also comply with current legislation on data protection.

“All of the partners and users act in ‘coopetition’, i.e. they cooperate with each other but they also compete, using the network with the assurance that they will never be able to control it without the approval of all participants”, Puig affirms.

A nonpartisan and not-for-profit network

The promoting partners who are behind the start of the project and who will be steadily joined by more entities created a not-for-profit association to technologically develop and to maintain the Lyra Network. It will be funded through contributions from the partners and users, satisfying its nature as a public good. “This model will enable the platform to maintain its independence and neutrality perpetually, to guarantee the identification of actors and partners and the provision of the services that any of them wishes to develop on Lyra”, according to Alex Puig.