While many countries globally have taken major steps in cryptocurrency regulations, The British Overseas Territory and headland, Gibraltar, has been taking steps that will see it become the first global crypto hub.
The Gibraltar government is currently assessing a bid for blockchain Valereum, which seeks to get into the Gibraltar Stock Exchange.
According to The Guardian, this move will make the British territory a trading platform for Bitcoin and Dogecoin besides traditional bonds.
Forward-looking crypto regulation
Through a tweet, the Valereum Blockchain PLC stated it had acquired Juno Group, a trust management company, for GBP850,000, which is expected to hold assets purchased on the exchange platform if the deal is sealed.
The Gibraltar-based company, Valerian, is focused on linking the sterling pound and the US dollar into the cryptocurrency industry. It said that GBP500,000 of the total amount would be paid in cash, and the balance would be payable in Valereum shares after celebrating the first anniversary.
Patrick Young, Valereum’s executive director, believes that the territory is powerful and can offer a great opportunity for crypto trading and legacy assets.
So far, Gibraltar regulators have cemented their purpose of becoming blockchain rock by approving 14 blockchain and cryptocurrency firms in the offshore territory. Probably, this is one of the key grounds Valereum chose Gibraltar as its center for establishing a cryptocurrency zone worth $3.5 trillion.
The company is believed to be planning to provide technology for linking crypto assets and cryptocurrencies without relying on intermediaries.
Gibraltar’s minister for digital financial services, Albert Isola, says that the territory had welcomed the crypto industry after consultation about its regulation four years before the introduction in 2018. The introduction of cryptocurrency regulation will root out bad players and assure the investors.
Opposing the global trend
With countries like China and India carrying out crypto crackdowns, and many other nations eying the blockchain industry with caution, Gibraltar is seen to be taking a bold move that may accelerate crypto investments.
However, it is noted that the country’s financial sector accounts for only a £2.4billion economy, which is managed by the regulator who has 82 employees. If the plans fail, this move will have great reputational damage and diplomatic sanctions, hence threatening the economy.
If the plans prove successful, it may become a global cryptocurrency hub while encouraging other countries to follow suit.
Major global financial regulators have been skeptical about crypto assets and worry about their involvement in money laundering, terrorism financing, market integrity, and investor protection.
If Valereum’s plans are given the go-ahead, this British overseas territory will become the first global stock exchange to allow trading of any asset in cryptocurrency.
