By The British territory Gibraltar is another nation to recently adopt Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). In addition to this, the country has also issued licenses to a handful of well-known crypto companies. Albert Isola, trade minister of Gibraltar stated that this comes as part of a governmental strategy aimed at creating a “supportive environment” for the cryptocurrency arena.
Gibraltar’s DLT Legislation:
Last year January saw the implementation of the Digital Ledger Technology Framework by the Legislature of Gibraltar. Key lawmakers and industry experts were responsible for creating the new regulations in an effort to entice businesses in the tech field with core focuses in DLT while making sure that customers and users are protected.
As per Gibraltar’s Minister of Commerce Albert Isola, a number of DLT licenses were issued to leading blockchain firms and are as follows:
Huobi – The fourth largest exchange by daily trading volume
Coinfloor – The oldest UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform
Covesting – A cryptocurrency exchange in Europe
The Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) – Which is operated by the local stock exchange
Etorox – A digital asset platform
Furthermore, Gibraltar also recently established a trade association for their DLT sector. Dubbed The Gibraltar Association for New Technologies (GANT), the body oversees development of formal relationships between DLT companies and legal authorities.
Isola also has a seat in the British parliament and recently argued that the nation’s new legislation was created in order ensure that state remains flexible in light of the fast-moving developments of the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.
Gibraltar As A DLT Haven?
Gibraltar joins a myriad of other European territories who have made clear moves in order to establish clear regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies.
Back in 2018, the Maltese Parliament passed three new bills and created the world’s first cryptocurrency regulatory framework. Since then, the nation has garnered a reputation as a global leader in digital currency legislation.
Other European nations such as the likes of Germany, Estonia and Switzerland have also made notable moves with regards to the legislation of digital assets.
Over in North American in the USA, Jay Clayton chairman of the SEC argues that virtually all ICOs and utility tokens securities and the SEC’s response have eliminated any of hopes of the modification of existing laws for the new technology.
Clayton argues that securities are securities regardless of the technology that they might be built upon therefore they should fall under the existing securities laws.
While many industry leaders agree with this while many others including US lawmakers refuse to accept it.
However, one this is certain, regardless of the opposing arguments, in order to avoid regulatory uncertainty many startups are embracing security tokens when issuing tokens for real-world assets.
Currently, there are numerous security tokens out there and all are SEC-compliant. Everything from equity, real estate, investment funds and even fine art have become tokenized.
Lastly, the current regulatory structure within the US market for security tokens is expected by many experts to lead to a staggering $200 billion market cap this year.
What are your thoughts on the current regulatory environment for digital assets? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.
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