Created by European Parliament member and entrepreneur Antanas Guoga, the Blockchain Centre Vilnius says it will develop blockchain applications for the business, finance and public administration sectors.
Economy Minister Virginijus Sinkevicius told IT and fintech specialists as well as European Commission and European Central Bank officials who attended the launch that it made Lithuania a “European leader” in blockchain development.
Blockchain technology debuted in 2009 for the leading digital cryptocurrency bitcoin allows for the development of peer-to-peer payment systems.
It runs by recording transactions as “blocks” that are updated in real time on a digitized ledger that can be read from anywhere and does not have a central recordkeeper.
Partnering with similar centres in Melbourne and Shanghai, the Vilnius centre will also work to establish business connections in Europe, Asia, and Australia, according to a press release.
The centre gives a boost to Lithuania’s goal of becoming the hub for the fintech industry in the northern Europe, thanks to the fastest EU’s licensing process and developed communication technology infrastructure.
Lithuania’s central bank said it issued “over 30” new licences to fintech companies last year, with special focus on UK-based firms facing Brexit.
The applicants include big names like UK fintech start-up Revolut and a Singapore-headquartered remittance payments firm InstaRem.
Paulius Kuncinas, chair of the board at the Vilnius blockchain centre hailed the technology as a movement that “gives the power back to people”.
While the EU is eager to embrace the new technology, it is also working on stricter rules to combat money laundering and terrorism financing on exchange platforms for virtual currencies.
Pierre Marro, an EU Commission official, said Saturday the EU executive will seek talks with European Central Bank and European Parliament this year to get more “legal certainty” in the area.
“There is no plan for regulation on cryptocurrency as far as I know today. But I think that we -– with all the institutions –- are monitoring more and more closely what is happening,” he added.