Cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiasts were excited about the announcement this week that President Donald Trump plans to name Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, a longtime supporter of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, as his interim White House chief of staff before the end of the year. As a congressman, Mulvaney was a co-founder of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. When it comes to actually embracing cryptocurrencies, the U.S. has been generally skeptical. As a recent opinion piece in the Harvard Business Review by law firm Jones Day blockchain initiative leaders Stephen J. Obie and Mark W. Rasmussen noted: “Without clear regulations, cryptocurrency innovation in the United States is being stifled.…
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Representatives of seven Southern European countries after signing a joint declaration promoting the use of blockchain technology in providing government services. Representatives from Italy, Portugal, and Spain are inexplicably shielding themselves (photo by Ray Attard via Prime Minister Silvio Schembri's Twitter account).Southern Europe stakes a claim to blockchain leadership
Seven EU members including France, Spain, and Italy commit to advancing blockchain law and technology
Seven European Union member states including France, Spain, and Italy have signed a joint declaration committing them to promoting the use of blockchain technology in providing government services. Led by Malta, which has been positioning itself as the EU’s “Blockchain Island,” the seven Mediterranean nations on Dec. 4 announced their “forward-looking vision to make Southern Europe a leader on emerging technologies, such as Distributed Ledger Technologies,” another name for the blockchain technology underlying cryptocurrencies. “We believe that Distributed Ledger Technologies could be one of the instruments that can help our countries transform their economies and society into truly digital ones and become a leading region in this sector,” the declaration…