Gibraltar: A crypto hub

Gibraltar: A crypto hub Why Crypto giants are choosing Gibraltar as their home

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Gibraltar continues to attract some of the biggest names in the Crypto and DLT industry We asked some of our customers what makes Gibraltar so special

FOREWORD Ahead of the curve when it comes to the crypto sector, Gibtelecom makes it easy to move your DLT business to Gibraltar. We understand the industry and can be your strategic partner whether you're setting up here, or already here and looking to grow.

Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located at the southern tip of Europe and the entrance to the Mediterranean, has built up a name for itself in recent years as a crypto hotspot. Several companies have been rushing to the territories’ friendly yet robust regulatory environment.

Gibraltar is one of the world’s leading jurisdictions in welcoming, regulating and fostering fintech businesses. It has attracted expertise, entrepreneurs and world-leading businesses to its shores and has created a reputation as one of the world’s leading finance hubs, which has gained some serious pullingpower when attracting prospective crypto companies.

Gibtelecom spoke to some key players in the Gibraltar DLT space to find out why they chose to operate in Gibraltar.

Blockchain companies operating out of Gibraltar will have the benefit of working in a smaller jurisdiction that has a robust legal environment and hub for crypto and DLT

Why choose to set up your Crypto Business in Gibraltar?

THE BEST LEGAL AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT Gibraltar was one of the first jurisdictions to enact crypto specific legislation DLT specific legislation in force since 1 January 2018 Work within a flexible legal and regulatory environment, that is based on financial services regulatory principles found in the UK and EU Pro-active and accessible regulator and private sector industry working groups FISCAL AND REPUTATIONAL BENEFITS Gibraltar has a worldwide financial and regulatory reputation Favourable corporate tax: 12.5% on profits accrued and derived from Gibraltar Individual tax: max. 25% with eligible founders and executives capped at less than £30k tax per annum High concentration of thriving financial services corporations and experts CRYPTO FRIENDLY BANKS There are banking solutions available for regulated DLT or Virtual Asset Service Providers as well as Crypto Funds LOCATION AND LIFESTYLE Benefit from the great Mediterranean climate The perfect location means that beaches, hiking, watersports, golf courses and skiing activities are all nearby International flight connections English speaking British curriculum schooling Paid healthcare

Gibraltar in numbers

15

licensed DLT providers

£2.4bn 12.5% GDP 2021

Corporate Tax rate

Gibraltar is open for DLT business A look at recent developments in the industry

Gibraltar has long been ahead of the curve within the digital assets space; it introduced legislation to regulate digital ledger technology at the beginning of 2018 and has now granted over a dozen operating licenses to crypto companies, including exchanges eToro, Bullish, Bitso, and LMAX. The Government of Gibraltar has been very receptive to the growing cryptocurrency and wider blockchain and DLT-related sector, with regulators and policymakers in Gibraltar having understood the need for regulation in this sector, responding rapidly to such demand as far back as 2014 when the first working group was formed. The Distributed Ledger Technology Framework ("DLT Framework"), which became effective on 1 January 2018 meant Gibraltar was the first jurisdiction in the world to deliver a framework that regulates businesses that use DLT for the defined purposes relating to a "storage" or "transfer" of "value", which is a wider concept than pure virtual assets. Because Gibraltar is a small jurisdiction, with a with close working relationships between lawmakers, regulators and industry, it is able to adapt and evolve with the speed and flexibility required in this industry.

The attraction for blockchain companies is that Gibraltar has had laws in place for several years already and its well-developed regulatory framework was one of the first in the world.

Some of the DLT license holders

With this advanced framework in place, licensing takes only three to six months. In comparison, current UK firms looking to register their business, and be regulated under new recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force, are taking up to 18 months or more.

Gibraltar also has a reputation as a low taxation environment: it does not impose capital gains or dividend tax on cryptocurrencies, and crypto exchanges are subject to a business-friendly 10% corporate income tax rate.

Gibraltar has a strong record of pursuing quality over quantity as displayed with their approach to the gaming industry, with only certified brands licensed to operate in the jurisdiction and their strong regulatory framework. To date some of the biggest names in gaming, like Entain and Lottoland have a presence on the Rock. These regimes attract reputable operators who understand and embrace the commercial and reputational benefits of operating under a respected regulatory framework.

Various recent reports have recognised Gibraltar as a top Crypto destination. An annual research report into the global Crypto Hedge Fund space in 2020, commissioned by PwC and Elwood Asset Management, saw Gibraltar secure its place as the third preferred jurisdiction for the domiciliation of hedge funds, behind the UK and the United States, with Gibraltar growing its market share year-on-year. Gibraltar was also listed as having the fourth-highest number of domiciled crypto hedge funds (6%). More recently, the third annual edition of the report, published in 2021, shows Gibraltar as having strengthened its position as a preferred domicile for crypto hedge funds, with the thirdhighest number of domiciled crypto hedge funds (9%), overtaking the BVI (8%) and Luxembourg (3%), and pushing down Liechtenstein to less than 5%, with Gibraltar maintaining steady growth.

A strategic technology partner who delivers CHRIS SPARKES ACCOUNT MANAGER Account Manager, Chris Sparkes, is your primary contact for Crypto technology set-up in Gibraltar. With years of experience managing IT services for trading companies and exchanges he will be able to discuss your requirements and prepare a tailored solution to meet your needs.

GARETH HOOSON-OWEN HEAD OF SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Gareth is a business development specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in telecoms, IT services and financial services. With extensive business development and account management experience in the telco and infrastructure environment as well as insight into a range of business sectors including Crypto, he can provide the support your Crypto Business needs to drive international business growth. '

Understanding the industry is key to ensuring we have the right solutions

"Gibtelecom is the leading provider in Gibraltar and was instrumental in the growth of the e-gaming sector on the Rock" he said. "Its size means that we can provide the agility and flexibility to provide truly tailored managed solutions, coupled with a growing international footprint to connect you to the rest of the world.

From broadband connectivity and point-topoint circuits, to telephony and mobile, to hosting and cloud, we’ve got you covered in a true one stop shop."

Chris added "At Gibtelecom we pride ourselves on both providing a quality and robust service, and in delivering the personalised support businesses rely on. You can reach me any time and our technical pre-sales team will ensure that the set-up we provide works for you and your needs. Understanding the industry is key to us so we look forward to being your strategic partner and developing the products and services that meet your needs both now and in the future."

"There are a lot of interesting developments happening in the Crypto space" he added, "and we are keeping a close eye on these to ensure we can deliver the technology to support these and ensure that the industry has the tools it needs to grow"

Home grown and here to stay

WE SPOKE TO DAMEX CEO AND FOUNDER SAM BUXTON ABOUT WHY THEY DECIDED TO SET-UP SHOP IN GIBRALTAR "For us at DAM it was an easy decision" he said.

"We set-up in Gibraltar as we’re all from here and live here. We set-up here before the Cryptocurrency regulations came into place, which means we were grand-fathered in when that happened and the regulators were very open and transparent with us. They had a lot of time for us, like they do with other applicants.

I’d say that’s definitely one of the benefits of setting up in Gibraltar is that you can get a meeting with the regulators quite efficiently and they’ll hear you out and they’ll guide you to where you need to be to be DLT licensed and regulated in Gibraltar. I think the openness of the regulators to sit down and have a chat with you is definitely one of the benefits of coming to Gibraltar whereas other jurisdictions it could take a couple of months to get a meeting with the regulators."

Access to talent was also a big factor in choosing to expand in Gibraltar once they were established. "Setting up a business is challenging," he said. "One of the good things about Gibraltar is that most students tend to go to University and get their degrees funded by

the Government as well as any Masters, doctorates or whatever other qualifications we want to get. This means we have a unique pool of students who come back that are extremely qualified but have very little experience. We’ve definitely played on that. Every year there’s over a high number of students coming back with degrees in finance, marketing and all sorts of relevant things. We really leverage that. There’s pros and cons to that of course. Its all about having a mixed balance. We don’t need 20 experienced guys with 20 years in industry. We've found that millennials , myself included, constantly need to feel like we’re being empowered and put into a position to succeed and if we’re not we bounce around quite a lot. We feel like we’ve done a pretty good job at just constantly empowering people and giving our younger workforce an opportunity to learn fast in a very fast industry.

People say that one year in cryptocurrency is five years in traditional finance because there’s just so much going on."

About DAMEX Established in 2017, DAM is one of 15 DLT licensed and regulated companies in Gibraltar, taking advantage of the regulatory certainty offered by the Gibraltar Government. DAM is licensed and regulated to offer crypto OTC (Over-The-Counter) brokerage and custodial services by the GFSC. The company has a growing number of employees, most of which are based in Gibraltar and has ambitions to enter the American markets during 2022. DAM has over 400 OTC clients and has traded €500m+ worth of crypto in the first half of 2021 alone and over €1bn since 2019. They recently held a successful crowdfunding campaign, smashing through its target to raise over £1.2m and in March 2022 launched its banking application and Damex card.

WE ASKED SAM WHAT MADE GIBRALTAR STAND OUT AS A CRYPTO JURISDICTION "I think the jurisdiction has the strongest DLT license and regulatory framework in the world. I think that Gibraltar is a unique place as our financial institutions have access into the UK. I think living in Gibraltar is phenomenal – we have access to Southern Spain and North Africa whilst earning the British pound and living in a British economy. " "Having the strongest DLT license world makes sense for any large conglomerate to have in their group structure. The license is not a short term advantage it’s a long term play. In 90% of the world you can just set-up and go for it, that’s the fact of the matter. Why would you choose a regulated route when it entails lots of red tape, challenges and hurdles? Because you’re thinking of 10 or 20 years down the road not the next 12 months. We’re thinking long-term, we feel like regulation will eventually catch up globally and when that happens we’ll be in a more advantageous position compared to the majority of our competitors. Coming to Gibraltar to set up your crypto currency business only makes sense in my opinion if you are thinking long-term corporate value."

Sam also spoke to us about the ecosystem and environment that having a growing number of crypto companies in Gibraltar has created. A lot of crypto entrepreneurs have a philanthropist mindset and want to give something back. He told us how "there’s this hub in Gib now and what excites me the most is that if we have enough people like this in a very small area it can be extremely powerful and I’d like to see what implications that has for not only Gibraltar but for the surrounding area including Southern Spain and North Africa because there’s a lot of problems that need to be solved. That’s what excites me the most- outside business what all these types of individuals together can do in the next decade."

"I think Gibraltar’s DLT license framework is the strongest in the world. I’d have an open conversation with anyone that wants to challenge me on that. I think the calibre of clients that the regulator and jurisdiction have been able to attract is tremendous."

SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR DAMEX? "We'll launch our app sometime this summer, and then we’ll roll out to the rest of Europe once we’re comfortable with how we manage the Gibraltar community. We’re also launching our own cryptocurrency, the Damex token, - by the time this interview hits the market it should be out too. Our token and our app will live together in an ecosystem. Its crazy for us. I think the next two months will determine the next 20 years for our company.

I’m very satisfied with where we are and what we’ve accomplished. Our mission as a company is three-fold. If we had to close shop and looked back and can say that we all learnt and grew individually, we gave back to charity and to local sports and the community, and we had an amazing time doing it with lots of DAM-fam events then those years were a super success it doesn’t matter what the outcome for the company is. However my shareholders might be thinking but what about shareholder value?

Well if you do those three things then you create shareholder value without a doubt. That’s how we position ourselves. Its all about learning, having a good time and giving back.

Its scary, I’m not going to lie, it’s intimidating but somebody’s gotta do it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we went from 40 to 400 people as this app launches as the support base needed to support a retail application is numbers. Whereas traditionally we’ve been B2B for the last four years we’ve been able to manage that business line with quite a nimble team. However when you enter the retail space support is crucial and that requires quite a lot of human resource so our team is going to scale accordingly. Just managing that is a challenge right now. "

DLT is for more than just payments

WE SPOKE TO CEO PAUL FOSTER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPLIANCE AND THE DIFFERENT USE CASES OF THE BLOCKCHAIN "Crucial Compliance has been working with several companies in the Crypto space, specifically on the compliance areas around the blockchain itself. We’ve been looking at multiple use cases for the blockchain rather than Crypto itself. The majority of companies are looking at the monetization and if we think about the bitcoin we’ve got the bit, which is the data, and then we’ve got the coin, which is crypto. So what we’ve been focusing on is what everybody else isn’t, which is the bit part. And when you look at the data then you’ve got the blockchain that you can use as a data storage tool. We’ve been specifically looking at use cases and working with major companies to create use cases for storing data on the blockchain."

WE ASKED PAUL WHAT MADE GIBRALTAR STAND OUT AS A CRYPTO HUB? "It’s the licensing regime. It’s the level of knowledge both at Government and with the professional services here. You have some of the leading people who understand the product, implementation and regulation which gives you a platform to operate, build and invest into the blockchain and crypto world.

When it comes to innovation Gibraltar over the last 20 years has been at the forefront of it with the gaming industry. So the world gaming industry was built out of Gibraltar and the gaming industry today is still run by people who live and trade in Gibraltar.

Gibraltar actually acts as an innovation hub. It was originally around gaming, then it was around payments and payment services, then it was around games and products, then it was around financial services and now its about Crypto. So in reality all we’ve done is taken a journey where there is an innovation hub here that nobody knows about – because its just a group of very talented people who can cross-fertilize different parts of the business because they started in gaming, then they went to payments, then they went to product and now they’re in crypto.

Gibraltar sets regulatory standards very high.

So if you’re going to come into Gibraltar you’re going to have to meet the standards set for regulation because it is a Tier 1 regulator. In terms of operating here, its quite simple. Gibraltar is not a difficult place to come and operate within the Crypto space, or within crypto or blockchain services which do not require licensing. Gibraltar is a great place to come and work and an easy place to get good talent."

About Crucial Compliance Crucial Compliance are a one-stop-shop for regulatory, corporate responsibility, compliance, and professional service needs.

They specialise in delivering a holistic safer gambling strategy that is tailored to the specific needs of both online and land-based operations.

They have extensive knowledge and expertise in various RG, AML, BI, and CRM areas which allows them to provide tailormade strategies & solutions which will match your regulatory and aspirational Corporate Social Responsibility needs.

"Once you have worked out what you are going to do and whether it needs regulating or not then that is the difficulty here. But the good news is that we have great professional advisers, a very open government and a great regulator who understand it, so in terms of being able to come in and understand whether you can work here – its very quick."

AND IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT IS THE NEXT BIG THING FOR CRYPTO IN GIBRALTAR? HOW DO YOU SEE IT DEVELOPING? "I think it is the whole of the utilisation of blockchain. Because crypto is now moving on – we’ve got crypto payments here, we’ve got companies that are actually going to use the blockchain too and now crypto micropayments which is huge. So if we look at the crypto payments industry, at the moment we’ve got traditional payments but when we start looking at micropayments then all of a sudden we can do a lot of IP [intellectual property] regulations.

So if you think about music as an example, at the moment you have to go through the traditional way of being paid for music. Imagine if you can make a riff, load it up to the blockchain, tie it into a micropayment and when anybody uses your riff you would get a payment.

And I think that’s the kind of innovation that you’ll see in Gibraltar in the next few years. It’s the use cases linking the blockchain, into crypto, into payments.

"I think Gibraltar will continue to innovate and find interesting use cases that link blockchain, crypto and payments, and do it responsibly to build something new and exciting."

We’re looking at lots of projects, such as carbon offsetting using the blockchain, which involve thinking outside the box and developing applications and use cases. We are trying to make a name for ourselves in this space as a lot of people are scared of crypto and the blockchain because of the history of compliance and regulatory issues. People who don’t understand it will say it's not compliant and it's not regulated - which is absolutely rubbish. People don’t trust it. But then again a few years ago when everyone sold their gold off did anyone stop believing that a pound was worth a pound? No they didn’t. So we’re in the same phase of education at the moment.

And the more use cases we can come up with the better it will be. I think in order for people to really understand what the availability is on crypto, working with the blockchain, working with other things, you’ve got to cast your net wide. And that’s where Crucial have come in and said we are happy to look at your use case and make it responsible, make it regulated and make it compliant with the regulations in the country.

When we were approached by a lot of the crypto companies who are based here now they were looking for compliance around crypto payments and crypto products themselves and we told them we don’t want to get involved in that. We’re more strategic.

What we want to look at is other use cases.

Because anybody can do that and quite frankly the lawyers and the accountants here can do all that for you. What we want to do is come at this from a different angle. Take an idea and help you innovate it in a responsible way so you can come into Gibraltar and do something new and exciting. "

Gibraltar offers a complete package

WE SPOKE TO PARTNER AND COLEADER OF HASSANS’ FINTECH TEAM ANTHONY PROVASOLI ABOUT WHAT GIBRALTAR CAN OFFER CRYPTO COMPANIES "When looking at how this industry has grown in Gibraltar I think the regulation piece is very important. It had to be appropriate regulation and not just a tick box approach. What we've ended up with is regulation that is relevant to the products and services that the licensees are offering - I think the Gibraltar regulations are quite good in that sense. They are not overly burdensome, but they are robust and they do give businesses the ability to say they are licensed and properly regulated in a reputable jurisdiction. Here in Gibraltar, we’re looking much beyond KYC and AML, focus is also placed on corporate governance, safeguarding customer assets, business continuity, fitness and propriety of the people involved, IT systems and cybersecurity resilience and a lot more. Of course, KYC and AML is an important factor but there is so much more that applicants need to consider.

The Gibraltar regulatory requirements force applicants to look into various areas of their business and, with our help, assess whether they have appropriate systems and measures in place to satisfy the Gibraltar regulator’s 10 regulatory principles. The feedback that I get from clients after having gone through the application process is typically quite positive because they come out of it in much better shape. Then there's the fact that advisors and different service providers in Gibraltar have, over the years, developed a deep knowledge and understanding around this industry so when a DLT or virtual asset service provider seeks legal advice, accounting services, tax advice, banking solutions or insurance cover, for example, advisors in Gibraltar are able to service them at a very high standard. In my view, specialist advice is very important in this emerging and fast evolving industry and you can certainly find that in Gibraltar

About Hassans Fintech team Hassans International Law Firm is the largest law firm in Gibraltar, offering a complete range of legal services to clients both locally and throughout the world.

Established in 1939 by Sir Joshua Hassan, the firm has grown in size and standing to become one of the world’s leading law firms, comprising the largest number of topranked lawyers in Gibraltar.

The Hassans’ FinTech team consists of 12 experienced fintech lawyers and allied practitioners, spanning a range of complementary disciplines, co-led by Partners Anthony Provasoli and Vikram Nagrani.

AND IN TERMS OF SETTING UP YOUR CRYPTO BUSINESS IN GIBRALTAR, HOW EASY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? It depends on the activity. Businesses seeking permissions from the regulator to undertake regulated (or registrable) activity will have to go through the application process and give comfort to the regulator that they are adequately satisfying the relevant criteria. Businesses seeking to undertake regulated activity will also need to have a physical presence in Gibraltar as they will have to prove to the regulator that the Gibraltar operations are being managed from Gibraltar. Some businesses like to recruit for those positions locally whereas others prefer to relocate existing employees to Gibraltar.

There are certain virtual asset related business models which may fall outside of the DLT regulatory scope and these will require a lot less regulatory intervention, if any at all. Obviously, it is a much simpler and straightforward process to set up a crypto business in Gibraltar that does not fall within the regulatory scope. .

"Having an understanding of the industry is key to providing a good service. We take customers ideas and business models and help them to figure out what works and what doesn't, how the regulation applies. We help to find a solution that works for them"

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF CRYPTO IN GIBRALTAR? It’s a very fast-paced industry and every day there are new, disruptive products and services popping up in the market.

Also, most DLT or virtual asset service providers offer online services which can be accessible from multiple jurisdictions and you cannot just ignore what regulators in other jurisdictions are doing.

We often, therefore, find ourselves liaising with legal advisors in different jurisdictions to ensure that, together, we provide our clients with more complete advice, not just from a Gibraltar perspective. It is extremely important to keep abreast of the positions being taken by different regulators and lawmakers around the world in respect of virtual asset services and working closely with our clients and scrutinising their innovative business models from a legal and regulatory perspective is what excites me the most

A recently licensed perspective THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY SMITH, HEAD OF COMPLIANCE AND RISK FOR THE BULLISH EXCHANGE, WAS POSTED ON BULLISH.COM ON DECEMBER 6, 2021 Why did Bullish apply for the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) license in Gibraltar?

So ultimately we assessed several jurisdictions before choosing Gibraltar and I think it’s important to note that we specifically mapped our own business considerations to the various regulatory frameworks that we were looking at and then we looked at which regulator would be able to offer us a crypto native if I can call it that licensing regime. Specific to cryptocurrency rather than trying to fit it into an existing regulatory framework.

We also looked at things like time to market, and ultimately we came up with the fact that the GFSC or the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission has an established track record in approving and supervising crypto exchanges which is a huge plus for us in the decision.

Also they are heavily focused on protecting customers, and they have strong regulation in areas such as privacy and financial crime legislation which is really important to us as an exchange.

It’s a principles based regime which gives us the outcomes of what the regulation wants to achieve, rather than telling us how to do it, and so it does allow some flexibility in the way in which regulated firms are able to apply the legislation to their particular business framework. We do want to become a global exchange operating in as many jurisdictions as possible and that fit within our risk appetite.

What is next for Bullish now that it has received the DLT license?

Different to other exchanges that typically start their life out as an unregulated business and seek to become regulated, Bullish has chosen to be regulated from the word go. And to ensure that we’re able to continue as a regulated exchange, we need to make sure that our procedures are operating as we have promised and as we have intended. Ultimately though we do want to become a global exchange operating in as many jurisdictions as possible and that fit within our risk appetite. But we will do this in as compliant and legal manner as necessary by obtaining the required licenses in those jurisdictions.

Bullish has gone “live” with select institutional customers. What makes the platform different from existing exchanges and what can users expect?

Ultimately the exchange has been designed to integrate a regulated exchange operating a high performance Central Limit Order Book matching engine with a DeFi based architecture. It’s this unique hybrid order book that is underpinned by deep liquidity pools for each trading pair. By combining deep liquidity, automated market making and industry leading security and compliance, we’ve increased the accessibility and efficiency of digital assets for investors.

What does Bullish need clients to do for its KYC/AML procedures?

So in line with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission’s principles, one of which covers financial crime, and the FATF or the Financial Action Task Force requirements, customers can expect to go through the usual Know Your Customer, Anti Money Laundering procedures that they typically experience with other financial institutions. As part of this they can expect for their information to be reviewed and regularly updated and to be, to have to provide us with ongoing information, as and when required.

I think it’s safe to say that this is probably one of the areas where we have invested most heavily in from our compliance program.

Given the importance of it to global governments and regulators in abolishing the scourge of financial crime and fraud. And so we really want to play our part in that as a responsible financial services organization, and we will really ensure that we apply global leading practices in this regard.

About Bullish Bullish is focused on developing products and services for the digital assets sector, and its flagship product, Bullish exchange, has rewired the traditional exchange to benefit asset holders, enable traders and increase market integrity. Supported by the group’s treasury, Bullish’s new breed of exchange combines deep liquidity, automated market making and industry-leading security to increase the accessibility of digital assets for traders.

Bullish exchange is operated by Bullish (GI) Limited and is regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC)

On November 9, 2021 Bullish announced that it had obtained a DLT license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC), ahead of the launch of the Bullish exchange. Brendan Blumer, Chairman of Bullish, said the following in the announcement: “As the world’s first jurisdiction to enact purpose-built legislation in support of DLT, we believe Gibraltar is becoming a leading blockchain and virtual assets hub, and that it can provide an environment for cryptocurrencyfocused companies to operate securely and in compliance with industry best practices,” said Brendan Blumer, Chairman of Bullish.

“Securing this license signals that the Bullish exchange is a platform that institutional and retail users can trust. It also underscores our commitment to client protection, compliance and industry-leading security ahead of launching the exchange, and continues our progress towards going live. We believe Gibraltar’s commitment to a regulatory framework that fosters collaboration has spurred our industry forward and will enable wider adoption of digital assets,” Blumer added.

Building the blocks for the Crypto community The very first of these being the invitation to cohost the pre-reception of the Summit and also the first time an event in the space was hosted locally.

Shortly after the sponsorship from Gibraltar Finance was secured, a relationship that has solidified throughout the years with the shared vision of the potential for blockchain and FinTech startups to set up in Gibraltar. Some of the most attended virtual events at Startup Grind globally have been hosted from the local chapter featuring tech startups that have chosen to be based in Gibraltar because of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission regulatory framework.

WE SPOKE TO CHAPTER DIRECTOR DENISE MATTHEWS ABOUT THE CRYPTO START-UP COMMUNITY IN GIBRALTAR No other organisation in Gibraltar has talked or featured more DLT, Blockchain and crypto experts than Startup Grind Gibraltar. It started just after the launch of the chapter, the Government released the DLT Regulatory Framework for a full public consultation. This was to coincide with the Digital Currency Summit on the 9th May 2017 at the University of Gibraltar.

Local experts Nicholas Gómez and Joey Garcia and newly arrived on the Rock, tech lawyers Sian Jones and Adam Vaziri were some of the very first speakers.

Various factors about our humble beginnings contributed towards participating in the very early stages of the activities that were to be the catalyst of DLT Regulation including the vast international Startup Grind network, simultaneously creating awareness and building community for tech entrepreneurs and startups.

Technology (and blockchain is no exception) evolves at a pace few can keep up with and so we are never short of projects to feature on our platform. It has provided an opportunity for new clients for One Media & Events, the company that runs SG Gibraltar for which we have managed projects locally such as the Gibraltar Crypto Stamp and NFT Genesis Collection, multiple Hackathons up to our recent event live streamed into the Metaverse covering topics within Web3, NFTs and the Play to Earn model.

Providing a platform for events and networking for the crypto community to come together is essential in any thriving crypto hub, it supports the grassroots of startups and blockchain projects and contributes towards their success. In large cities these meetups saw the very early days of developers and investors come together which is how some of the biggest cryptocurrencies for example Ethereum have become mainstream.

Any big crypto project needs to build a community so hosting monthly events that are part of a global franchise in a small jurisdiction is a big bonus.

Five years on, it is a great achievement to have consistently delivered monthly events which not only still provide an incentive for startups and companies looking to set up locally but also add value with innovative and relevant content to the local business community.

Startup Grind Gibraltar has not only become an established household name, it has brought together and bridged industry and organisations in a neutral space where everyone can work together. Our efforts continue building the blocks towards a strong foundation as we work outside of the platform to bring the community together supporting the Gibraltar Digital Skills Academy and the Gibraltar Association for New Technologies with the high level network we have access to, which we believe will sustain the success of Gibraltar in technology and entrepreneurship.

About StartUp Grind On the 1st February 2017, Gibraltar was chosen as the next City Chapter within the organisation Startup Grind; a Global Community for Entrepreneurs. It is the largest independent startup community, actively educating, inspiring, and connecting 2,000,000 entrepreneurs in over 600 cities nurturing Startup ecosystems in 85 countries through events, media, and partnerships. This includes hosting monthly events featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies in a Fireside Chat, Panel or Workshop.

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