Virtual Assets Bursted Into International Politics Through United Nations Agenda
RegulationBit News Today2 min read
The table traces how distributed ledgers and digital money reached the 73rd UN General Assembly in September 2018, through speeches by Malta's prime minister and Sierra Leone's president and a new UN technology strategy.
Malta pitched itself as a regulated crypto hub, while Sierra Leone signed up to a ledger-based national ID and credit bureau.
| Date | Actor | Step | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Mar 2018 | Binance and Malta | Exchange plans Maltese office | Zhao Changpeng announced the move; Joseph Muscat welcomed it on Twitter |
| 4 Jul 2018 | Parliament of Malta | Three crypto laws pass final reading | Virtual Financial Assets Act, Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act, Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act |
| 18 Sep 2018 | UN Secretary-General | Strategy on New Technologies issued | Covers AI, biotechnology, blockchain and robotics; five principles, four commitments |
| 27 Sep 2018 | Joseph Muscat, Malta | UNGA speech on crypto | Called cryptocurrencies the inevitable future of money; presented Malta as the first jurisdiction to regulate the field |
| 27 Sep 2018 | Joseph Muscat, Malta | Proposed ledger uses | Patient-owned medical records, tracking of humanitarian aid, firms more accountable to shareholders |
| 27 Sep 2018 | Joseph Muscat, Malta | Framing | Likened the shift to motor cars replacing horses; crypto material filled the closing part of the address |
| 27 Sep 2018 | Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone | MOU signed at UNGA in New York | With UNDP, UNCDF and the nonprofit Kiva to upgrade digital ID and the credit reference bureau |
| 27 Sep 2018 | Kiva Protocol | Ledger-based national ID | Aimed at about seven million citizens; banks and informal lenders can add to verifiable credit histories |
| 2018 baseline | Sierra Leone | Why it mattered | Credit bureau covered about 2,000 people; around 80% of citizens unbanked |
| Plan | Sierra Leone and partners | Timeline | Rollout planned for 2019, with a first stage of about three years |
| 27 Sep 2018 | Xavier Michon, UNCDF | Ambition | Said the country aimed for one of the most advanced, secure credit bureaus |
| 2018 | Kiva | Track record | Over $1.2 billion crowdfunded in loans across more than 80 countries, 1.7 million lenders, 3 million borrowers |
Sources: MaltaToday, The Block, Bitcoinist, FAO, UNCDF, The Next Web, CoinGeek.
