Switzerland and Israel agree to share experiences over Blockchain

6 years ago - Published in Breaking views

Switzerland has been making progress on their technological advancements with blockchain, but they have realized that their current knowledge is not enough to sustain ongoing improvements.

As a part of this endeavor, Switzerland’s Minister of Finance Ueli Maurer and State Secretary for International Financial Matters Joerg Gasser recently visited Israel and appealed to the Israeli government to grant access to its markets for Swiss banks. Gasser plans to prepare a document by the end of 2018 which would put across some general recommendations for regulating the blockchain world. He is preparing his document in anticipation of an approval from the Israeli parliament in the year 2019 so that the plan can be executed in 2020.

So far, Israeli officials have yet to provide a comment to Reuters. Still, both countries have already agreed to share their notes on progress with the fintech regulation, according to the Ministry of Finance. This note-sharing arrangement includes details on crypto guidelines and money laundering.

Right now, there are many different Israeli projects in the works with blockchain technology to some degree. The local blockchain initiatives have been reviewed, so far, by international tax accountant and CPA Selva Ozelli. Some of the initiatives have included a blockchain-based drone registry, establishing a national cryptocurrency, and developing an open government platform for elections.

Switzerland is a cryptocurrency-friendly country, famous for the crypto valley in Zug which has a number of blockchain investors. The country was ranked first in a list of top European countries for launching a Blockchain company. The city council of Zug is notable for accepting payments in bitcoins. Swiss banks are increasingly embracing the cryptocurrency industry.

Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, in June, became the first Swiss bank to extend business accounts to blockchain companies. Israel is looking at issuing a national currency. They are exploring the potential of blockchain in government elections and are also looking forward to implement a blockchain-based drone registry.