1. Malta’s Prime Minister Tells UN That Crypto Is the “Inevitable Future of Money”
Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta, has said that cryptocurrencies are the “inevitable future of money,” and that blockchain can iduce a more transparent and equitable society. According to Muscat, Blockchain makes cryptocurrencies the inevitable future of money, more transparent since it helps filter good businesses from bad businesses, but that those distributed ledger technologies can do much more. Malta’s Prime Minister proposed that DLT can ensure “that no one is deprived of their legitimate property because of compromised data,” that corporations “become more accountable to their shareholders,” and that states “move from hoarding information on their citizens to regulating an environment where citizens trust the handling of their own data.” DLT would mean that patients have real ownership of their medical records and make administration more robust and efficient. In June, the Maltese parliament approved three DLT- and crypto-related bills, consolidating the island’s bid to remain at the forefront of blockchain innovation.
2. Deloitte Outlines Five Major Obstacles to Blockchain’s Mainstream Adoption
“Big Four” audit and consulting firm Deloitte has outlined five basic areas of development for blockchain technology in order achieve widespread adoption. in order to be adopted by enterprises on a mass scale, blockchain technology should overcome five major obstacles – the possibility of time-consuming operations, lack of standardization, high costs and complexity blockchain applications, regulatory uncertainty, as well as the absence of collaboration between blockchain-related firms. Identifying the area that needs the most development, Deloitte singled out the problem of possible operational delays on a distributed ledger network. Among the most complex issues around blockchain regulation, the company highlighted the difficulty of regulating smart contracts, which do not necessarily fit into existing frameworks.
3. Spain Remains a Primary Example of Blockchain Optimism on All Levels
On September 17. the autonomous community of Aragon, one of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities, signed a contract with Alastra, a blockchain ecosystem of more than 274 entities, including companies and institutions which create blockchain-based tools in line with Spanish and European Union legal frameworks. This blockchain will improve the transparency and efficiency of the administration which will attract in turn business and investments. The signing of the contract is only the start of a series of activities scheduled by the Aragonese government to take place through the end of the year, such as training and consultancy sessions to identify more use cases for blockchain within the government. On May 30, the Spanish Congress unanimously supported draft legislation that would favorably regulate blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the country. Due to the absence of a supervisory framework, the draft called for a review of regulations pertaining to Bitcoin and altcoins, as well as to blockchain, proposing to introduce the technology to the Spanish market through “controlled testing environments,” commonly referred to as regulatory sandboxes. The latest move came from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which shared its plans to apply blockchain technology in the forestry industry.