en
Back to the list

Blockchain in post-Covid-19 Italy

source-logo  en.cryptonomist.ch  + 1 more 05 June 2020 07:30, UTC

The blockchain economy as a response to the crisis triggered by Covid-19, even in Italy. This is the view of Consulcesi-Tech, a Swiss company that specializes in blockchain and cybersecurity. 

An example of this comes from Albania, where the Fintoken Act came into force, a measure inspired by the regulations of Malta and Switzerland

The Act was actually passed at the end of 2019 and is a measure that facilitates companies that invest in blockchain. The Fintoken Act in fact guarantees entrepreneurs a certain time for the approval of blockchain tools: 60 days. In addition, tokens are defined and ICOs and STOs are regulated. 

A model for Italy

This model, which makes Albania a hub for innovation, is what Italy must focus on in order to recover after the crisis. 

After all, the Coronavirus has forced Italy to close its productive and commercial activities for months. The economic impact will be devastating, with a drop in GDP that risks reaching 13%. The blockchain can be used to test new economic models. This is the thesis of Gianluigi Pacini Battaglia, CEO of Consulcesi Tech:

“The Blockchain Economy and Decentralized Finance can become great protagonists in the economic recovery, in this moment of post-pandemic crisis. Transparency, decentralization and speed of execution are sought by companies to go through the current moment. Another example is Malta, a country that in 2018 approved the Virtual Financial Assets Act – for which the International Monetary Fund forecasts a lower GDP growth among all European countries”.

Consulcesi Tech makes a strong appeal to the Italian government to encourage the development of business models focused on blockchain and digital assets. 

The blockchain in Italy, before and after Covid-19

Research conducted by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (a prominent Italian investment bank) reveals that an increasing number of companies have adopted and developed DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) with great results. Profits have risen from 1.6 billion dollars between 2015-2017 to 27.3 billion in 2017-2018. 

The number of patent applications on projects has also increased from 648 to 1441 in the same period.

Even the Italian government is involved with blockchain. The Ministry of Economic Development has already started and tested a blockchain project for the safeguarding and protection of the Made in Italy trademark. The blockchain could soon become a protagonist also in the agricultural world, where the application of this technology for the traceability of products is being studied. 

The Italian government winks at the blockchain, a flagship of Davide Casaleggio, son of Gianroberto Casaleggio, one of the founders of the 5 Stars Movement, Italian political party currently in government. It remains to be seen whether the political forces will take the technological innovations and the blockchain as an opportunity to emerge from the crisis. 

At the moment, in the Relaunch Decree currently being examined by Parliament, the blockchain is mentioned only in the context of the €100 million refinancing of the Smart&Start Italia project.

This is an initiative launched in 2014 and provides facilities for startups that are dedicated to products, services or solutions in the field of digital economy, artificial intelligence, blockchain and Internet of Things. 

However, this is a minimal intervention that will certainly not make Italy a leader in the blockchain world.

en.cryptonomist.ch

Similar news (1)
Add similar news