How Blockchain Helps Pave the Way for More Autonomous Governance

OPINION

The referendum vote for the independence of Catalonia has adversely affected the stock market in Spain as of early October 2017.

Among the affected indexes is the IBEX, which registered a 15-month low. Spanish government bond yields, however, increased by almost 2%.

The uncertainties due to the referendum and its accompanying protests and violence have made locally-focused investors jittery. The good news is the impact of the various events are yet to be felt outside the Iberian Peninsula.

The Catalonia case seemed to trigger various secessionist movements around the world. In the US, there is an ongoing effort by the state of California to separate itself from the federal republic and become an independent country.

These independence movements are being supported by the innovations of the information age. Among them are the advent of the Internet, and the introduction of the cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, and their underlying Blockchain technology.

How new Catalonia could rely on Blockchain to govern itself

The growing use of the cryptocurrencies could help drive the success of secessionist movements around the world as digital currencies can be used by separatist states to finance their own governments by digitizing public sector processes and systems, including national identity, voting and even healthcare.

The rise of the virtual currencies could also be a sign that the long-awaited alternative to the US dollar as the global de-facto currency has already arrived. It remains to be seen, however, if the cryptocurrencies will be adopted by mainstream markets worldwide in the near future.

Meanwhile, in the political arena, right-wing parties are growing in popularity in such countries as France, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands. In the US and Great Britain, the political trend is toward division rather than cohesion. Meanwhile, many governments feel threatened by any potential lack of control hence the constant efforts to ban Bitcoin.

These are interesting times, both economically and politically, and there’s no denying how Blockchain helps play a crucial role in changing times ahead.