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The London Blockchain Conference 2024 gathered politicians from both sides of the pond to its panel on The Role of Governments in Fostering Innovation. The panel posed the question: Can effective policymaking and government intervention serve as a catalyst for growth and societal progress, or should the market be entrusted to determine its own destiny? The panel was moderated by Dean Armstrong KC, from the London firm of Maitland Chambers. Armstrong’s request for a status report on the United Kingdom government’s digital asset perspective came from Alun Cairns, a Tory MP and vice-chair of the British Blockchain Association. Cairns said there were only “a tiny number” of MPs who understand blockchain, with most of Parliament immediately equating blockchain with less savory elements such as cryptocurrencies, the dark web and such. Cairns called this “an understanding challenge” rather than a ‘branding’ issue but emphasized the “collective challenge” facing the blockchain community to “differentiate cryptocurrencies from blockchain and highlight what blockchain does to improve policy outcomes.” Cairns sees his role in this challenge as “focusing on discrete areas of policy that can be transformational.” Cairns cited the notoriously “inefficient, expensive, cumbersome, inaccurate process” of land transfers as “probably the ripest fruit to pick off,” in part because it’s run by one primary agency. Adding blockchain technology to land transfer “would without question make it much more efficient” while also preventing “so much fraud, so much risk.” Adding blockchain to this process “could almost be rolled out on a pilot basis, or a regional basis. That would give confidence to policymakers, regulators and civil servants,” not to mention public users. Cairns stressed that the sector needs to target areas “where blockchain could make a difference and bring about change in a positive way, so people could understand what it does without worrying about…

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Filed under: News - @ June 10, 2024 7:16 am