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Malta looks set to lead Europe as the continent goes into its seventh consecutive year of economic growth. The island’s economy is forecast to expand by 4.2 percent over the course of 2020, driven, in part, by its embrace of blockchain technology.

The growth forecast figures come courtesy of the EU Commission. The organization summarised the economic projections made for European Union’s member states in a report titled, “Autumn 2019 Economic Forecast: A challenging road ahead” on Twitter earlier today.

Source link right here (https://beincrypto.com/blockchain-island-thriving-malta-set-to-lead-european-growth-in-2020/?utm_campaign=amba&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bitcointalk&utm_content=jc)

I feel happy for Malta to be honest. They've been consistent for their growing economy, especially adopting the disruptive blockchain technology in the island. Right now, my friend and business colleague is there attending the Medical Cannabis event and the Malta AI and Blockchain Summit.

I think they're doing a great job to be honest. I just feel like other countries should follow suit, especially in the Southeast Asia market. However, it's not easy to be consistent for economic growth, you know? There are always challenges and setbacks that are coming in their way, but they continue to thrive and it's hard for them to stop growing.

What would be your opinion or thoughts about this guys? Thanks in advance.

Sounds to me like everybody wins. Companies have a regulatory-friendly environment, Malta is advancing economically, and the crypto industry has a place where it can freely develop and evolve. Good job Malta, way to set up an example for others to follow.

The growth of Malta is much concerned with the adoption of new technologies. When things gets advanced they try to make use of the same finding the good in it at the earliest than other countries. The population is very low which makes them easy to implement any form of advancement which isn't possible with countries with big population. Over the years Malta is technology adoptive which has led many start-up to have their business registered on Malta. This is the major revenue generator for Malta in my view.

I guess it shows that if a country truly supports blockchain it can help thrive their economy and even can aid in their growth. But I think the bulk of it comes from it's friendliness towards gambling industry as well. We all know that Malta is the "IGaming Capital" not just in Europe.


(https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/business/business_news/84106/the_future_is_golden_for_maltas_igaming_industry#.XcVOHb9S90s)

And as you can see, Malta is defying the odds, I mean the county is 10th smallest country in the world, and I think they're also the smallest amongst in the EU, but look at their economic growth, in the last 5-10 years all because of adopting "Blockchain Technology".

Feel like that's just amazing to be honest, Malta has always been a great hub for a lot of crypto lovers, and a lot of crypto startups and other businesses do prefer residing in Malta compared to other countries due to the sort of ecosystem it has, as well as low tax benefits for companies. Pretty sure there is a lot of networking there as well, and it is very easy to get well known in that scene.

This is how other countries should be dealing with crypto businesses and their growth in their countries, Malta is a leading example of how blockchain/crypto companies are able to perform very well in a good enviroment.

I wish them good luck. Maybe they will be able to influence market trends?

I think that some countries and cities think futuristically and this makes them leaders all over the world. The example of Malta is ideal, all countries should strive for this, but not everyone wants to do that

Can Malta become the new cryptocurrency capital after France?

Malta has positioned itself as one of the leaders in cryptocurrency regulations, they had a very progressive approach to cryptocurrencies including providing education to the citizens regarding blockchain technology, finance, and cryptocurrency.
Whenever a country become a safe haven for crypto, good things will follow, it's a technology of the future. As some of the biggest exchanges such as Binance located there, just imagine how much income from tax for such small islands.

Malta will be a powerful center for crypto and blockchain in 2020. I think that investors should take a closer look at this region, there is a huge prospect for creating projects and recruiting a highly qualified team.

Really it great support from Malta is becoming the Blockchain hub now, the Malta government is adopting Blockchain and other distributed Leger technology.

This kind environment needs for all crypto business to do the great services in Blockchain technology so it will be helpful for others countries to know about power of Blockchain technology.

It pays to be open-minded. More often than not, those countries that prefer to be stubborn and insist on their old comfortable ways will be left behind. Malta has gained the attraction, and even became a sort of an apple of the eye, of cryptocurrency companies around the world for being friendly to the new technology. While others are expressing reservations and even unfriendly stance toward crypto and blockchain, Malta is able to embrace it and therefore gained economic growth.

And it pains me that the likes of EU is threatening to encapsulate the growth of Malta through blockchain and cryptocurrencies by means of saying legal implications and whatnot could harm the economy not only of Malta but also of the whole EU. They have been trying to hinder the operations of Malta and has been constantly checking whatever's happening in there for them to monitor everything. Trust me, they are not in it to prevent "money laundering operations" but to divert the money elsewhere and not just flourish in a single island.

Good for Malta for not giving in to the demands and to the scare-mongering made by the EU and its constituents. We see how things go whenever new tech is given a chance to grow.

I sincerely hope the economic growth is also experienced by low-income families living in Malta. And not arising another wide gap between the rich and the poor. Blockchain technology should elevate the status level of all kinds of people. So hopefully everyone is really winning on this system.

It seems to me that Malta is a very impressive country! Economic growth is a great indicator, but Malta is also a very tolerant country (human rights are protected). Moreover, it's a good democratic country, so it's also politically stable. It's surprising to see such openness and progressiveness in a country where 94% identify themselves as Catholic and only 4% are atheist, that is surprising for me.
I've heard about Malta being crypto-friendly, but at the same time about banks hesitating to allow opening bank accounts to crypto businesses. Hopefully, this country will lead the way and become better in terms of crypto policies (although it's not bad already).

There are so many good altcoins from Malta and they are growing in crypto numbers, I remember Mb8Coin if I’m not mistaken and its actually a good coin. SEA countries should follow this one, because most of them are developing countries and my own place belongs to this, surely most of the country in Asia will start to adopt. Philippines will also be a good place for cryptocurrency, so much opportunity to grow and this is why we will follow the footsteps of Malta and other nations.

I didn't even know France was a cryptocurrency capital!!! Can you elaborate all crypto stuff going on in France?

I think one island is not enough to trigger main adoption of bockchain tech in different countries but it is a good start and some other may follow. Aside from cannabis are there any businesses that are progressively using the tech to enhance their capabilities? Because if that is the only main reason for the investors to go there then it will be hard for South East Asian countries to follow as their countries bans cannabis especially here in our place.

we'll see if those projections hold up over time. the whole "blockchain island" narrative seems to be falling apart:
-bittrex just ceased their maltese operation and launched a new exchange in liechtenstein.
-in september, 11 months after moving to malta, zebpay left for australia.
-in august, coinone's malta-based exchange CGEX shut down after less than a year in operation.
-there have even been rumors circulating since february or march that binance is planning to leave malta: https://lovinmalta.com/news/crypto-giant-binance-denies-plan-to-quit-malta-we-will-continue-to-fully-support-blockchain-island

malta's financial authority seems to be clamping down hard on crypto platforms, and maltese banks are making it very difficult for them to obtain bank accounts. https://news.bitcoin.com/malta-might-be-blockchain-island-but-dont-try-opening-a-crypto-bank-account/

if these increased growth projections are based partly on crypto platforms, the numbers will probably be revised downward next year.

Don't think France was ever the crypto-capital. It's more the Asian countries, Korea, China (in a different way) and Singapore. If I was forced to put a name on the capital, I'd pick Singapore due to the amount of crypto companies based their and their fairly lenient rules towards crypto companies.

I think everyone has been overhyping Malta, just a bit over the years. It's 10 percent company tax is surely profitable, and the abundance of networking that is done on the island is definetly immense.

As figment this - this is mostly due to the Maltese banks being a lot more strict and basically blocking a lot of these crypto exchanges/companies from opening accounts, or even at times freezing them.

Malta well known as a country with the very friendly law to whoever want to launch a crypto projects/company there ... that's why they called as a bitcoin paradise besides how there's a lot of bitcoin exchange registered and make Malta as their headquarters due they found the law stricter at other countries but not in malta.

bittrex pulled out their homebase at malta due there's new regulations that authority will actively monitor exchanges to prevent money laundering. Does this means they are no longer cryptocurrency friendly? No longer deserve called as crypto paradise? I think so.

This self proclaimed futurist says it is the UAE or dubai to be exact in being the new crypto capital which was filmed about a year ago.
Blockchain City - The Future of Cities Driven by Blockchain Full Movie 40 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6fadL-0VRw
It feels like a commercial towards blockchain groups so to immigrate businesses there where they plan to have a blockchain based government across all seven emirates by the year 2030.
Estonia is also mentioned later on you got to watch until the end.

No country can take financial decisions that may impact the entire world. Money laundering and terrorism  financing are indeed heinous crimes that need to he stopped at any cost! No matter how Malta wants to have a friendly attitude towards crypto, they have to comply at some level because of FATF which takes care of such issues worldwide!

But that's good I believe! Because if cryptos are used by criminals worldwide, that reputation loss for cryptos itself! As a crypto enthusiast, we must condemn any illegal activities that involves cryptos. So the monitoring activity is indeed needed to curb illegal usage! Malta is still a heaven with tighter security norms!

It's honestly great that Malta adopted blockchain technology and their economy is continuously growing. If the country, just continues doing it, they can be more successful. Me, as a person living in a Southeast Asian country, I'm also hoping that someday this kind of opportunity to adopt blockchain will also be possible in my country. But just to be true, I think it's hard for Southeast Asian countries to follow these steps since some countries there are still struggling to even reach other country's technological development. A big factor that can also affect it is with the governments' acceptance and support with blockchain.