BREAKING: First-Ever Blockchain Stock Exchange to Launch in Europe

InBitcoin, Bitcoin news Gibraltar, Bitso, Blockchain Rock, BTC adoption, Cryptocurrency news

An Entire European Stock Exchange Will Be Powered By Crypto and Blockchain

Covered:

Stock Exchange Acquired By Blockchain Firm
Gibraltar’s Strong Stance On Crypto
Endorsements/Partnerships

Gibraltar Stock Exchange Acquired By Blockchain Firm

Gibraltar is a British Territory on the South coast of Spain. While the small territory is a quiet place where those on holiday stretch their legs and put their feet in the sand, the government of Gibraltar is looking to shake things up in their growing economy.

As reported by the Guardian today, the Gibraltar stock exchange is set to be acquired by blockchain firm Valereum, a publicly-traded company on the London Stock Exchange that links “conventional, mainstream currency products denominated in USD and GBP into the world of crypto currencies.”

Gibraltar will become “the world’s first integrated bourse [stock exchange], where conventional bonds can be traded alongside major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and dogecoin.” It is a big move for the territory that is an official member of the European Union; and of course a big move for crypto.

The exchange has already offered tokenized securities in the form of Corporate Bonds, Convertible Bonds, Asset-Backed Securities, Derivative Securities, Open-Ended Funds, and Closed-Ended Funds since 2019. This move, though, takes the blockchain embrace to a new level for the burgeoning peninsula.

Recommended: BIGG News Out Of Canada: The Country Approves Its First Exchange For Trading Crypto Contracts

Gibraltar’s Strong Stance On Crypto

…they’ve been dubbed “blockchain rock.”

Gibraltar has taken a very strong stance on its backing of crypto-currencies. As the Guardian points out, this is mostly likely in order to get a leg up and “future-proof” their economy. The country has formally committed to regulating crypto in order to implement it into their financial sectors.

Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s minister for digital financial services, said of the report: “If you wanted to do naughty things in crypto, you wouldn’t be in Gibraltar because the firms are licensed and regulated, and they aren’t anywhere else in the world.” Gibraltar has “so far approved 14 cryptocurrency and blockchain firms for its licensing scheme.”

Experts back in London believe that other nation-states will follow if the experiment goes well. A London-based deputy head of complex crime at Reeds Solicitors said: “If it’s a success, you’d certainly think that other jurisdictions would look to follow, because it’s [crypto] an ever increasing valuable commodity.”

It appears the UK and the EU are at least implicitly on board with the decision, signaling that Gibraltar could be a test-case that European regulators are going to monitor in its development. It would be the first time ever that a blockchain/crypto firm would completely overhaul a stock exchange.

The government has been licensing and onboarding crypto/blockchain firms over the last 4 years to facilitate an environment with clear regulatory parameters. In doing this, Gibraltar already has their foot in the door and will be an attractive magnet for web 3 capital. They’ve been embracing crypto so much they’ve been dubbed ‘blockchain rock.’

Endorsements/Partnerships

In a welcomed endorsement, Tom Keatinge, director of RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies in the UK, noted that out of all of the small jurisdictions on the planet, Gibraltar has “invested the most time and effort in understanding the opportunity posed by blockchain.”

Notably, aside from the stock market, the Government of Gibraltar announced earlier this month that they have partnered with Latin American exchange Bitso and RSK, a smart contract contract platform for Bitcoin, to “integrate blockchain technology into its legacy systems in order to streamline government processes.”

Gibraltar's government has started a program aimed to use blockchain technology to store official credentials on its systems.
Officials have started digitizing government services on the smart contract network #RSK, but plan to step up work in 2022.https://t.co/Piow0WxN6P
— RSK (@RSKsmart) December 7, 2021

Keep in mind that Bitso is actually the firm behind the Chivo wallet, as we reported on this month. It appears the government in Gibraltar may have more up their sleeve in terms of crypto adoption. And while the territory is small on the world stage, it being tethered to the EU and the UK make these developments much more intriguing.

We will keep you updated on the developments from Blockchain Rock.