In an attempt to expand the digital sector in the Isle of Man (IoM), an advisory body for the island nation has announced the formation of a hub dedicated to the development of the Blockchain technology and the launch of Isle of Man Sandbox. The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency located between Ireland and Great Britain.
The decision was prompted by an advisory committee called the Digital Isle of Man. As per their website, The Digital Isle of Man is an executive agency of the Department for Enterprise and acts as a critical decision making and advisory body supporting the Government’s ambition for long term economic prosperity for the sector. Through the blockchain hub, the advisory body aims to aid blockchain businesses through current and future regulatory landscapes as a part of the island’s digital strategy.
The initiative will enable blockchain platforms to design crypto concepts in line with the required legislation and regulation. The Blockchain hub will also offer expertise, guidance, and marketing support. The officials have claimed that they will not regulate blockchain in isolation, but will allow flexibility to encourage businesses to put this transformative technology to best use.
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Businesses will be allowed to be part of the proposed IoM Blockchain Sandbox from March 2019. The Sandbox will provide the participants with access to an environment where they can develop and test blockchain platforms. The officials announced that the access to the sandbox for few early participants would be free.
“We are looking to attract premium blockchain businesses and the world’s top exchanges to the Island, and we will be creating new tech-agnostic regulation inspired by best practice that we’ve seen from other high-quality jurisdictions around the world,” said Lyle Wraxall, chief executive of Digital Isle of Man.
As of now, the blockchain hub will majorly focus on the dealings between blockchain and the e-Gaming sector. Isle of Man legislation permits crypto assets to be deposited, withdrawn and gambled, for e-Gaming operators. The Isle of Man has also launched one of the first blockchain-enabled lottery platform run on Ethereum, based on smart contracts.
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“The Isle of Man, which was among the first jurisdictions in the world to establish a legislative framework for virtual currencies, has been home to leading exchanges since 2013, and is the headquarters of blockchain businesses including CoinCorner, Quanta, Luckbox, and Qadre,” explained Daphne Caine, political member for Digital Isle of Man, speaking about the digital strides the nation has made in recent years.
