Malta Blockchain Summit 2018 — Setting new crypto standards
Just earlier this November, Primpy crew (with the participation of Creanest and Business Solutions team members) landed in an interesting place: Malta! And if you haven’t heard the news, Malta is currently the place to be for anyone who is looking to build something great with blockchain technology. To be more specific, we flew to Malta to attend the Malta Blockchain Summit 2018 — where all the thought-leaders of everything blockchain convened to have an interesting discussion, the first of its kind.
The newly-dubbed “Blockchain Island” of Malta is a seemingly peculiar place to hold such a summit, but it is not without reason that the world’s most significant blockchain event would take place here.
Earlier this year, Malta reached the important milestone of being the first country to regulate blockchain, cryptocurrency, and DLT (distributed ledger technology) within its jurisdiction in a progressive move that we hope that the rest of the world follows soon.
Here is a quick rundown of the proposed legislative bill: the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) Bill is a new bill that will allow the Maltese government to establish a regulatory body that will monitor Technology Arrangements or TAs which means it will monitor smart contracts and cryptocurrency platforms, and the registration of Technology Service Providers (TSPs) in addition to the auditors and administrators of these TAs. The MDIA was passed to protect the users and consumers (who make use of or are exposed to DLT) and regulate the processes and practices including the adoption of standards and the promotion of legal certainty in the application of laws to distributed ledger technology businesses not only nationally in Malta, but also overseas. Already, we’re in the works of obtaining the certification to operate in the field and our ICO is coming up very soon.
To understand just how important this summit is, a little background is needed.
The first of many to come, the Malta Blockchain Summit 2018 was held on the 1st and 2nd of November of this year.
Right off the bat, our experience in Malta was fascinating — the single largest blockchain event of the entire year. The Malta Blockchain Summit 2018 was a momentous event of an incredibly large scale that was fully endorsed by the Maltese Government.
Between the many startups hopping on the blockchain bandwagon (mostly trying to get investments) and the visionaries trying to start a revolution with the underlying mechanics of the blockchain, fascinating discussions were sparked — everyone was there.
With over 4000 delegates, 100 speakers, and 150 sponsors and exhibitors, the summit was one of the biggest, most inclusive events the world of blockchain has ever seen. The topics covered were almost overwhelming; the global leaders in entrepreneurship, finance, technology, and governance joined in the conversation about health, entertainment, government, banking, payments, fintech, and more. While not every corner covered is for everyone, this just goes on to show the all-encompassing reach and potential of the blockchain. We enjoyed being exposed to all of it to be sure.
The summit was comprised of four conferences covering the field’s government and regulation, marketing and affiliation, fintech (financial technology), tokenomics (the question of implementing “tokens” within a blockchain-based product) and cryptocurrencies, and blockchain for developers. In each of the conferences, some of the biggest names from different backgrounds gave speeches about the latest and greatest in blockchain.
All in all, it was a great opportunity for networking.
But there was more to it. In fact, if you were looking for some answers to some of the most charged and contested questions then you should look into what we witnessed at the summit.
Inevitably, the question of security and transparency surrounding the blockchain came up and was discussed thoroughly. We could go into the details, but it is best if it were summarized into the key points.
Perhaps the single most convincing point is that the blockchain is, on an (over) simplified level, an incorruptible database.
Each block contains data, a unique signature (“hash”), and the signature of the block preceding it. This means that it is impossible to change the data of any single block without totally changing the entire blockchain. There is no central authority in a blockchain that could maliciously change the data in a blockchain. Consequently, there is no way to “hack” and control what is on a blockchain. Secondly, blockchain is purely peer-to-peer based. Every single “node” (person connected to the blockchain) has their own copy of the entire blockchain. The blockchain is then verified across however many nodes are on the chain; everyone has full access to full transparency, and equally helps in securing the blockchain.
Of course, these points are simplified and they don’t cover the entire basis of why the blockchain has high levels of security and transparency.
In fact, this inherent trustworthiness of the blockchain is one of the reasons we built Primpy to be a blockchain-based product.
We wanted to create a decentralized fashion platform with equality and inclusion in mind. With everything being community-driven, there is hardly a chance for someone to tamper with the platform or take advantage of the ignorance of others. Moreover, everyone will be equally involved! Like the blockchain, Primpy is all peer-to-peer and benefits from all the inherent advantages of the blockchain’s ingenious and simple design.
These answers and everything else discussed at length at the summit were given and discussed by some of the biggest names in the field.
Christopher Obereder, the 26-years old serial entrepreneur talked to us about potential exploits and the coming wave of potential from the world of blockchain. Carla Maree Vella, the founder of the blockchain consulting company ConsultXD, gave us insider insight right from the biggest businesses in the field. Gordon Einstein, the “crypto-attorney” and leading cryptocurrency thinker, chipped in on the often overlooked yet essential side of legalities and security.
We enjoyed our time at the Malta Blockchain Summit 2018 and are incredibly hopeful about the outcomes of this event.
With the Maltese parliament being so cooperative (and excited) about blockchain technology and all the cutting-edge benefits it brings, expect Malta to retain its title of Blockchain Island for years to come.
It was a critical time to work with global leaders, form connections within the blockchain universe, and brainstorm new potential applications opened up by the recent Maltese laws.
Our model of decentralized fashion was always a vision we felt passionate and hopeful about, and the summit just gave us more and more confidence in our progress.
Primpy is a community-driven fashion market where end users and businesses benefit from transparency and usability powered by the blockchain tech.
By bringing together technology, retailers, service providers and customers, Primpy becomes a go-to place for desirable fashion items, services, opportunities, tips and trends — tailored to users and businesses.
