Last week, the Prime Minister of Malta, Dr. Joseph Muscat, addressed the United Nation’s General Assembly. As part of this speech, Dr. Muscat advocating on behalf of new technologies which “pose endless possibilities.”
“We are currently in exciting technological times: with the lightening pace of current technological advance, each incredible piece of new innovation could hold a new solution to a problem we may have been persisting with for decades, from advanced robotics and artificial intelligence, to 3D printing and the Internet of Things.”
Dr. Muscat acknowledged the many challenges intrinsic to the transition to the “digital economy,” but warned about taking an “antagonistic” view of tech innovation but this approach would be “myopic.” Dr. Muscat “passionately [believes] technology revolutionises and improves systems.”
And when it comes to Blockchain, this is an area where Malta has excelled:
“Which is why, in Malta, we have launched ourselves as the Blockchain Island by being the first jurisdiction to regularise a new technology that previously existed in a legal vacuum,” stated Dr. Muscat. “Blockchain makes cryptocurrencies, the inevitable future of money, more transparent since it helps filter good business from bad business. But these Distributed Ledger Technologies can do much more. It can provide new solutions to healthcare systems where patients have real ownership of their medical records. Emissions trading systems can be taken to the next level. We can help verify that humanitarian assistance is reaching its intended destination. We can make sure that nobody is deprived of their legitimate property because of compromised data. Corporations will be able to become more accountable to their shareholders. States will need to move from hoarding information on citizens to regulating an environment where citizens trust the handling of their data.” [emphasis added]
While there have been reports that some other EU officials are not that enthusiastic about Malta’s blockchain focus, Dr. Muscat is clearly making the #BlockchainIsland mantra central to his vision for Malta’s economic success.