#Bermuda, #Gibraltar and #Malta future paradise #cryptocurrency
Several countries are determined to seize the cryptocurrency lane. Malta, Gibraltar and the Bermuda archipelago have in turn adopted legislation that is able to attract virtual currency entrepreneurs.
After tax havens, crypto paradises? With the growing popularity of the concept of virtual currency like Bitcoin, some countries are adapting their legislation in the hope of attracting entrepreneurs from the sector. Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are on the line to become the future temple of cryptocurrency and thus enjoy the economic benefits of this new marke.
"We want to be an incubator for this industry," said Bermuda Prime Minister Michael Dunkley in a May interview at a conference in New York. "We are only 60,000 living on 32 km² but our economy is very advanced", he boasts. His government has put in place an accelerated procedure for start-ups in the sector that allows them to deal directly with the local Ministry of Finance.
This measure convinced Will McDonough, creator of the virtual currency iCash, to settle in the British overseas territory. In the New York Times, he praises the great Bermudan experience in international finance and the voluntarism of the local government in blockchain, the technology on which cryptocurrencies are based.
"The biggest problem facing blockchain companies is the uncertainty about legislation or regulation, and markets that have clearly defined their rules are attracting a lot of companies who agree to follow them," says McDonough. famous American newspaper.
Malta wants to be the "blockchain-island"
Bermuda is not the only one interested in the blockchain cake. On 4 July, the Maltese Parliament approved three bills aimed at putting the country at the forefront of this revolution by facilitating the issue of new virtual currencies or the exchange of existing ones.
Again, it is the Prime Minister of the country, Joseph Muscat, who has done everything to position his nation on the subject. At the end of March, he declared that Malta would become the first country in the world to "take a first step" towards this sector. He said that his island would "go to an unknown land, for which we have no map - but we will advance, we will learn and we will be in the front line".
"Malta has seen blockchain technology and virtual currencies become popular and popular," said Joseph Borg, blockchain technology specialist, interviewed on CNN. "As a result, Malta should become a hub for start-ups in this industry as well as established companies in the sector, while stimulating local growth."
The initiative has so far been successful. The European island has managed to attract Binance, the main virtual currency exchange platform, then driven out of Japan for operating outside the law. An establishment in the Mediterranean island that was greeted by #Joseph #Muscat. #Shortly after, OKEx, another platform, also announced its willingness to settle in the country. Evidence of its attractiveness in this area, Malta will host in November 2018 a summit on the subject of the blockchain.
Gibraltar hopes to replicate the success of online betting
On the side of #Gibraltar, we observe with attention this nascent industry. According to Albert Isola, finance minister of the British enclave, the blockchain could constitute "a future flow of important activities". Gibaltar is about to pass a series of laws similar to those of Malta. According to the minister, 35 blockchain companies have already applied to be domiciled on the rock.
Gibraltar hopes with this new manna to be as successful as online games. By imposing itself as an Eldorado on the subject, the rock had seen its growth stimulated: today, 10% of jobs in the territory depend on it.
For Albert Isola, cited by the New York Times, Gibraltar must proceed in the same way as for online games. Flexible rules but clearly defined, even selective: "For each of the game licenses we have issued, we have probably refused ten," he says. When entering a new market, it is important to attract big names but especially good names. And for that, sometimes you have to say no to even bigger names. "
Gibraltar, however, has competition in Europe. The Principality of Liechtenstein is also in the ranks to attract industry. In Switzerland, the canton of Zug hopes to become the Crypto Valley. As for Estonia, it has launched its own virtual currency.