The Isle of Man has launched a blockchain office as well as a sandbox for the tech set up by the self-governing British dependency to foster the development of an international blockchain hub, as reported by FSTech.
The authorities have said that the primary function of the office is “to facilitate a dialogue between businesses and regulators”, such that an adequate regulatory infrastructure can be structured in such a way as to provide flexibility in order to help the development of the emerging technology on the island.
The sandbox, on the other hand, will help businesses with access to an “environment where they can develop and test blockchain platforms”, the report reads. It would also seem that the sandbox will be open to international forums and will garner expertise to help strengthen cross-border initiatives.
As an invitation, Lyle Wraxall, chief executive of Digital Isle of Man has said, “We are looking to attract premium blockchain businesses and the world’s top exchanges to the Island.” In its own way, the island is doing what only a handful of jurisdictions have been committed to in the few years that blockchain made mainstream.
The island may have been among the first to establish favorable legislative framework for cryptocurrencies as opined by Daphne Caine, political member for Digital Isle of Man, who said that the island has been home to leading exchanges since 2013, and is the headquarters of blockchain businesses including CoinCorner, Quanta, Luckbox, and Qadre.
More so, by “creating new tech-agnostic regulation inspired by best practice” from other “high-quality” jurisdictions around the world, the island is setting itself up for traction from many blockchain startups seeking non-hostile environments to run their businesses similar to the occurrence in Malta.
Malta is another jurisdiction working towards achieving the blockchain island status. Although it had come under criticism from within as well as cautionary notes from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its rate of adoption of blockchain technology, however, it wants to stay the course and become a major landmark for the industry.
For most jurisdictions, the process to regulating cryptocurrencies is either slow or undecided as most of them are waiting for comprehensive data to better manage the space without stifling innovation. Others like China have long banned cryptocurrency transactions and while its has formulated regulations for blockchain-based projects, many have ascribed the development as hostile to the industry.
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