Will micro states like San Marino become new home for blockchain businesses?
Might the future of technology be developed in micro states that can react quickly to new innovations and offer infrastructure and technological support that will attract entrepreneurs?
It will be interesting to keep an eye on San Marino, pictured above, the tiny state surrounded by Italy, which this week unveiled ambitious plans to become one of the world’s leading blockchain hubs.
The Republic’s innovation arm, San Marino Innovation, has confirmed the creation of a joint venture with Estonian-based blockchain technology developer Polybius.
The idea is to develop the infrastructure, the regulations and the technical expertise needed to become a blockchain powerhouse.
In other words to attract entrepreneurs and developers who might otherwise have worked in larger states such as Switzerland and its Crypto Valley. It is a move that other small states which have a history of financial innovation, like Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra and Gibraltar are going to keep an eye on.
Says San Marino’s Secretary of State for Economic Development Andrea Zafferani:
“We are the world’s oldest Republic and we are proud to begin a transformation led by technology.”
“We believe this partnership will have a significant impact on the economy, growing the innovation sector which is at the core of our development strategy. The Republic will also acquire a state of art set of regulations to become a world-leading blockchain hub.”
San Marino plans to harness Polybius’ Digital ID technology to create new identity mechanisms for authentication and verification, in compliance with ongoing European personal and private data management initiatives.
“San Marino is ideally placed to become an innovator with this type of technology,” adds Sergio Mottola, executive chairman of San Marino Innovation.
“We are not interested in short-term or opportunistic policies to take advantage of the speculation surrounding today’s cryptocurrency world. Rather, we are intrigued by the revolution implicit in the underlying technology: the ‘blockchain,’ which we expect to bring an impact on the global economy greater than the internet has.”
Says Ivan Turygin, co-founder of Polybius:
“We were a pioneer of distributed ledger technologies through our HashCoins company. Now we are able to bring that expertise and experience to bear on a project that will position San Marino as a hub for innovation and deliver a strong incentive for the Government to continue growing the industry in the long run.”
“Our broad experience includes development of practical solutions on multiple blockchains, most notably Emercoin,” concludes Sergei Potapenko, co-founder of Polybius.
“In the past, we have developed and implemented solutions ranging across password-free authorization, data storage and notary services.”
