Lithuania Shows 'Serious Intentions' in Blockchain Innovation
Lithuania has shown interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology recently. In April, the country will hold a Bitcoin conference inviting innovators and developers to join them for this event. Additionally, a report covered by the Baltic-Review has detailed the opinion of the Vice-Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, Marius Skarupskas, who apparently likes this new technology.
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Skarupskas considers blockchain technology to be “financial innovation” and he doesn’t want his region to miss out. The Vice-Minister explains:
“Lithuania and Vilnius have serious intentions to invest into breakthrough in this area and to become a leader on the regional and global scale.”
Skarupskas believes technologies such as Bitcoin and blockchain tech are some of the innovative tools that will transform today’s financial markets. The two regions in the Baltic have recently spurred quite a bit of interest in FinTech and this new digital architecture. Companies such as Spectrocoin and others have spread cryptocurrency adoption and education within the area, and the protocols are gaining popularity. There have been many reports of the Baltic region’s active interest in this landscape such as Air Baltic becoming the first airline in the world to accept Bitcoin.
Marius Skarupskas is pleased to see Lithuania and Vilnius become a strong R&D sector within the globe. “Lithuania in general and Vilnius, in particular, are becoming a center for international financial innovation,” the Vice-Minister explains. “The R&D sector has already seen the arrival of such serious players as Barclays and Western Union. We think that technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, and bitcoin are among the latest and most exciting financial innovations. Lithuania and Vilnius have serious intentions to invest … in this area and to become a leader on the regional and global scale.”
With this enthusiasm, the municipal city of Vilnius in association with Nextury Ventures has decided to hold what they call the “Baltics’ largest Bitcoin and blockchain conference.” The event website claims that the publication Global Finance has called Lithuania one of the “most innovative countries in the field of online banking.” The conference wants to use this popularity to encourage experts, industry executives, and innovators to convene in the region to discuss these emerging technologies.
The event will be held on April 8, 2016, in Vilnius focusing on cryptocurrency solutions and distributed ledger protocols. Remigijus Šimašius, Mayor of Vilnius City, has said: “We’re happy that international companies think of Vilnius in terms of financial innovation increasingly often. We want to take a step further and to become a regional innovator in the field of young financial businesses, known as FinTech all over the globe. The conference scheduled to take place in April will provide an excellent opportunity to find out about the latest financial innovations and, with the assistance of professionals, scrutinize the possibilities that bitcoin has to offer.”
The Baltic states seem to be grasping these technologies quicker than most countries and are showing lots of positivity within this emerging economy. Merchants and services are popping up including Air Lituanica the Lithuanian airline service. The country also has several restaurants, a taxi service, and other retailers who have recently adopted the currency over the past year. The event should be a large one as the region shows strong support for the new innovations being tested by the world. We will keep our readers informed of any updates in regards to the conference in Vilnius, and you can also email the group with questions for more information.
What do you think about Bitcoin’s popularity in the Baltic States? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Redmemes, and Pixbay
