The Fintech team of PRT Lawyers has just returned from attending Consensus 2019 in New York City. Consensus is the largest annual gathering of the cryptocurrency and blockchain world. Over a three-day period PRT Lawyers’ Stuart Rodriguez, Dairon Trenado and Nick Wright met with clients, partners and other participants at the event.
Besides benefiting from learning about some of the newest movements in the fintech world and uncovering fresh insights into technological innovations, PRT Lawyers also took the opportunity to inform other attendees about the many benefits that are available in Gibraltar’s regulated and innovative ecosystem and the corporate structures and support services that PRT Lawyers can offer.
There was considerable interest expressed, not only in Gibraltar´s DLT regulations and the framework created by the ‘9-principles’ approach to these, but also in other related financial services available in Gibraltar. The FSC has also very recently added a 10thprinciple for applicant firms to comply with.
Gibraltar’s regulatory framework has been in place for over a year now and there has been a steady increase in the numbers of firms that have been granted DLT Provider licenses to operate their businesses in the jurisdiction, demonstrating a growing maturity in Gibraltar’s system, boosted by a highly-skilled professional services sector. There is a growing expectation that FATF will dictate that all DLT firms must be regulated, and given this anticipated increase of worldwide regulation of cryptocurrencies and their associated business models, Gibraltar is well poised to offer a solid base for fintech firms.
Consensus 2019 was also an excellent opportunity for PRT Lawyers to meet fellow professionals from across the world. It was noticeable this year that there was an increase in the numbers of the world’s top firms attending the event – IBM, Tata, Microsoft were all there, for example – which points to the industry’s growing interest in cryptocurrency and the financial services associated with it which are steadily maturing. Of particular interest were discussions on custody solutions, the collaboration of international corporations and small technology companies to find blockchain solutions for businesses such as payments and settlements, and on the tokenization of real estate.
PRT Lawyers looks forward to continue developing strong relationships with clients, progressing our clients´ interests over the comings weeks and months, and helping them bringing their fintech projects to fruition. We are also looking ahead to establishing new client relationships, introducing them to Gibraltar as the ideal jurisdiction for their fintech businesses.
