The true first nation to implement blockchain regulations is now looking at educating the next generation. The government of Gibraltar has formed an advisory group to develop and implement blockchain related courses, with the new initiative called the New Technologies in Education (NTiE) Advisory Group. By educating the next generation in blockchain technology, the small nation will be growing its blockchain workforce to supplement its newly formed regulations. Blockchain firms have been flocking to the “rock” in a bid to take advantage of these new regulations, and the shortage of local talent means firms are having to import workers from abroad.
Education is the Future
Educating the next generation is how the blockchain industry will continue to grow and thrive. As a global pioneer in the industry, Gibraltar has taken it upon itself to begin offering educational courses to help push the industry forward. However, Gibraltar doesn’t claim the first-place sticker with this one, that goes to New York. Students studying at New York University can now enroll in a blockchain technology major and become the first students to graduate with an official blockchain qualification. Malta has also been working on educating the next generation too. The University of Malta has launched a blockchain scholarship fund for students looking to read for a masters or PhD in blockchain.
Malta Trying to Steal Gibraltar’s Crown
Malta has been hot on Gibraltar’s heels in implementing blockchain regulations, however the final gap between the two nations works out at eleven months exactly. Gibraltar’s regulations went live on January 1st 2018 and Malta’s blockchain regulations will go live on November 1st 2018. Yet, Joseph Muscat – Prime Minister of Malta – has been claiming to the UN that Malta is the first country in the world to fully regulate blockchain – hold your horses Joe, as that’s Gibraltar’s crown.
Students Fixing Bitcoin
Bitcoin is known to have a few issues, mainly its poor scalability. While developers are hard at work implementing SegWit and the Lightning Network, students from Northwestern University have teamed up with bloXroute to try and fix Bitcoin. They are planning to build a layer underneath the Bitcoin network that will create a new transport layer. This essentially involves systemwide caching that enables faster propagation, gigabyte size blocks, and cut-through routing that enables swift and efficient transmission of blocks through the network. If the team manages to pull it off, the group estimates that the Bitcoin network will be able to handle more 1000 times as many transactions per second as it can currently.
Gibraltar is taking the next generation of blockchain experts very seriously and it wants to become a hub for blockchain education. It’s a core focus that more nations need to adopt, but as with iGaming regulations, Gibraltar is miles ahead of the crowd.
