Metaverse will not change the world - but blockchain can.

The reality of crypto, Web 3.0, the Metaverse and blockchain generally is, for most of us (myself included) a matter of much mystique. We know about the technology that underpins the space, but it is often that same technology that’s the barrier to a full appreciation of blockchain’s ability to tackle problems in ways that genuinely add value. There’s also, for me at least, elements of the crypto reality that don’t quite ‘fit’.

Yesterday, at a fireside chat hosted by local Startup Grind Chapter Director, Denise Matthews, at our place in Hassans, my partner Anthony Provasoli joined Mihai Ivascu from Modex, to discuss some of those projects they’re involved in - like some blockchain applications, it was one of those chats that added genuine value too. 

Anthony spoke a little about his ‘origin story’ in blockchain, about the virtues of the DLT ecosystem in Gibraltar and about how he believes that Gibraltar, today, is yet to be matched by another jurisdiction in the delivery of a regulatory framework that works for all stakeholders in the space. We continue to be the place to go for the right entrepreneurs and startups who see the value of operating in the regulated corners of the crypto world. Along with death and taxes, the acknowledgment that the future global regulation of crypto activity is a practical certainty isn’t visionary any more. It’s simply good business sense. 

Equally, as Anthony explained, “not everyone in the unregulated space is or has to be a bad actor”. Many are just phasing their establishment, setting out in a jurisdiction with a lower barrier to entry, but with a clear view to migrating to a regulated jurisdiction in subsequent stages of the company’s development. We advise entities for whom Gibraltar might not be the right fit today on how to build a product/service with the right features, future-proofed for when the time comes to make their application in Gibraltar. 

Mihai then offered a fascinating assessment of the value of Gibraltar to him and his team at Modex. “Gibraltar cares”, he said. He didn’t mean this in a sentimental way of course, but in the sense of not having to spend hours upon hours persuading a regulator of the legitimacy of crypto as a concept in the first place. In Gibraltar, no one needs persuading of its value.

Of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse, Mihai believes that “we are in front of the biggest movement of wealth in the history of man” and yet, in that context, he explained how Modex is unique in the sense that they want to ‘hide the blockchain’. They’re creating the enterprise solutions that offer all the benefits of the blockchain, whilst tackling the less desirable consequences of such implementations. As he said, ‘blockchain belongs in the backend’. For enterprise customers waking up to the realisation that blockchain is the solution, the use of a public network, latency and high costs are barriers to adoption which private networks can address. 

In this context, Gibraltar provides the regulatory backdrop against which businesses like Modex can build the technology solutions that enterprise and institutional customers can get comfortable with. “Whoever owns the data, owns the truth” and blockchain is the technology that offers the full audit capability that can solve perennial challenges in that context. 

Finally, Mihai articulated a view of crypto with which I fully identified - “the Metaverse isn’t going to change the world - it is just a normality of consumption”. I think that’s right, of course, even if I think that although there are many things we CAN do with technology, humanity may be failing to take a breath and consider whether we SHOULD do it. 

With Mihai’s view of the Metaverse (and I certainly don’t mean to characterise one line as the full expression of his views in that regard), and his focus on real-world use cases for blockchain, of which there are so many valuable ones, it’s easy to be fully onboard with the work of leaders in blockchain like him. 

If you’d like to discuss your project and how Gibraltar and Hassans can help, email me on selwyn.figueras@hassans.gi