In Spain, companies from various industries, not just digital finance, are starting to use blockchain technology in their activities. This groundbreaking technology is fueling groundbreaking projects in the country that are expected to increase Spain’s GDP by 20 billion euros by 2030.
As expectations for the technology increase in Spain through 2021, investment, hype and concerns about the stability and regulation of digital assets increase.
Here we take a look at some of the most notable developments in the Spanish crypto and blockchain ecosystem during 2021.
The central bank warns about the risk of investing in cryptocurrencies
The Central Bank of Spain, together with the National Commission for the Securities Market, issued a statement in February 2021 warning citizens about the risk of cryptocurrency as an investment.
The statement notes that the EU does not yet have a regulatory framework for regulating cryptocurrencies, nor does it provide guarantees and guarantees similar to those available for other financial products such as equities and bonds.
New tax rules for cryptocurrency
As part of its efforts to regulate and control cryptocurrency transactions, the Spanish Ministry of Finance announced in early July the “Law for the Prevention and Combating of Tax Fraud”.
Here, the Treasury will require you to declare income tax and wealth in digital currency, as well as report payments and fees made using cryptocurrency.
Local media then reported that “this regulation imposes an obligation to provide information on the balances of the accounts of holders of virtual currencies and the operations in which they participate. The same obligation applies to those who submit initial proposals for new virtual currencies.”
The Fintech industry gets a sandbox for games
In May, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance and International Finance published a resolution containing a list of the first projects adopted in the pilot environment for Spanish regulation.
Sandkassen will allow a select group of companies to test new business models in a closed environment under the control of the Bank of Spain, the Directorate-General for Insurance, Pension Funds and the National Commission for Markets and Securities.
Digital euro in municipal law
In July, Juan Beringer, the mayor of El Campello – a town east of the Costa Blanca in Valencia – said the municipality had been chosen to host a local digital currency project to complement the digital euro, to explore how this could happen. Change of currency in the eurozone “would be accepted by society”.
The initiative also aims to define how public and private jurisdictions can participate in the development, research and testing of a central bank’s digital currency.
Zamora promotes blockchain technology
Zamora, the capital of the province of the same name in northwestern Spain, held an online seminar on the development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
The event, entitled “Discover the Secrets of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency and How to Apply Them in Your Company”, organized by the Zamora Chamber of Commerce, was aimed at small and medium-sized businesses with less than 10 employees “who want to improve their digital marketing strategy . ”
Utility matters and innovation
In addition to finance, blockchain has found innovative applications in civil and administrative contexts.
In February, more than 2,000 people in Catalonia participated in a survey using blockchain technology. The initiative was developed using the Vocdoni digital platform, which allowed the results to be counted minutes after the polls closed.
In education, the University of Murcia has announced that they will issue certificates on the blockchain through Blockcerts.
The Spanish University issued blockchain certificates to participants at the Crue-TIC 2021/2022 “Disruptive Technologies from the Digital University” conference, where participants discussed applications of artificial intelligence, data analysis, big data, blockchain, cloud technologies and 5G.
A Spanish project using blockchain technology has reached the final of the European Digital Mindset Awards in the category Best Public Sector Digital Accelerator.
The electricity-focused blockchain project Endesa Confía has carried out a pilot project in collaboration with Malaga City Council and the University of Malaga.
The Spanish startup 1MillionBot has developed a blockchain-based virtual assistant for COVID-19 vaccinations.
At the end of the year, the Catalan blockchain hub announced the launch of Carvers, the Catalan metaverse. The new monolingual metaverse aims to promote the Catalan language and culture online.
