An Alderney States Member has spoken at a European Bitcoin conference – highlighting the island’s appeal to the ‘global Bitcoin community’.
Edward Hill and Jeannie Cameron, who are both members of the States of Alderney’s Economic Development Committee travelled to Amsterdam for the recent conference.
Mr Hill was one of the speakers – presenting ‘Alderney… Making of a Bitcoin Island?’ to the gathered delegates.
More than 1000 people were there, with the event live-streamed to around 13,000 viewers, giving Mr Hill a large audience.
His presentation invited delegates to view Alderney as an “open canvas” for partnership and investment and highlighted Alderney’s appeal to the Global Bitcoin Community, “fiscally, politically, geographically and as an attractive lifestyle destination”.
Mr Hill told delegates about life in Alderney, its political relationship with Guernsey, and its successful eGaming industry.
He explained that “we want to mirror Alderney’s success in eGaming where we have our own eGaming commission and we have professional staff who handle that”.
“What we’re looking to do is to extend that to bitcoin,” he said.
“We can also offer a test bed for decentralised offshore privacy preserving Bitcoin technologies.”
Other options in Alderney exist for Bitcoin business and entrepreneurs, he said, including the establishment of a Bitcoin research centre and a potential neobank, as well as a pledge to invest in public and private Bitcoin education.
Stuart Clark, Chair of the Economic Development Committee said discussion was generated at the conference and interest online has come from all sectors within the Bitcoin world, including fund management, custody, community hub and relocation.
“The Economic Development Committee is determined to explore every opportunity to open new economic pathways for Alderney. As the Minister of Luxembourg noted, Bitcoin is here to stay, and it is a sector in which Alderney has the potential to be a credible, well-regulated participant. We are encouraged by the level of serious interest we have received and look forward to welcoming potential partners to the island. We are committed to examining whether this represents a sustainable and valuable opportunity for Alderney and will continue to engage with the GFSC to ensure compliance.”
The organisers of the Bitcoin conference said the two-day event looked at Bitcoin’s global future and the trends that are tipping the scales.
The conference’s keynote speaker was Giles Roth, Minister of Finance for Luxembourg, who endorsed the country’s Sovereign Wealth fund decision to invest 1% of its assets in Bitcoin.