Andreas Carney technology partner, Pinsent Masons Ireland explains how Ireland could be made a global hub for blockchain:
Ireland has over many years successfully positioned itself as an international hub for technology companies, largely by developing a business environment that attracts foreign direct investment from the world’s biggest players. Blockchain represents an opportunity to build on that narrative and to take it to the next stage – to create a hothouse for blockchain development and position Ireland as the global centre for the technology itself. The IDA has recognised this opportunity, through initiatives such as its involvement in Blockchain Ireland. The Government is aware of the potential, as can be seen from its recent hosting of a blockchain hackathon. While this awareness and recognition is very promising, the regulatory environment needs to be looked at. Regulation can pose challenges for any technology. Blockchain is no exception, with data protection compliance being a sticking point for certain use-cases. But there are ways of addressing this, such as the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory “sandbox” in the UK, which enables fintech and similar businesses to work on new products and services in a way that is (initially) insulated from the full weight of compliance. It would be interesting to see what would happen for blockchain in Ireland if, for example, the Data Protection Commission created a regulatory sandbox of its own.
