The
transformative and exchange power that Blockchain technology has from the legal
point of view was one of the great themes of the meeting. In the words of
Almudena de la Mata, lawyer and founder of Blockchain Intelligence, the use of
Blockchain means “designing our society on new technological possibilities.
Some of these possibilities affect essential functions of the State, such as
identity management, judicial or tax system, accounting or property
registration. This requires a strategic approach based on a political
consensus, given the possible constitutional significance. ”
A statement
to which Manuel Gonzalez-Menses, notary and expert in Blockchain, added that
“the economy based on the use of crypto currencies also affects economic
solidarity within a country. If we allow the development of such an economy, we
must rethink and redesign the entire fiscal system; because this economic model
is based on each citizen managing their own needs, so you may think that you do
not have to pay taxes, since solidarity will do it as you wish, and it does not
have to be through the State. ”
Also from the
point of view of law, Antonio Camera, a lawyer for Allen, focused on the
possibility that not all state structures should be based on this technology.
In this regard, the lawyer affirmed that “we could find a great efficiency of
the Blockchain in the basic infrastructures, and the ideal is that we had a
public sector that would make the most of it. But the reality is that we currently
have critical infrastructure that is operating in heavily regulated private
hands. It is an alternative model to the Blockchain, which nobody doubts and
that works. ” In this sense, Juan Andrés Aviles, Technical Director of IBM
Spain, also highlighted that Blockchain technology “It is not necessary for
everything. We must add value as experts in this technology and qualify when it
does and when it does not."
Identity and Blockchain: myth or
reality
The identity
is one of the great debates that has awakened the arrival of the Blockchain,
opening the possibility of certifying identities (ID) outside the traditional
state regulatory channels. Moses Menendez, stated firmly that “the issue of
identity is a myth of the Blockchain. We already have an identity, the means of
identification for digital administrations are already legislated. Within them,
for me the need to establish a framework of trust is fundamental, it is a
critical aspect and usually it is also the great forgotten in the certification
of identities; but it is the one that really defines the validity of an
identity according to the uses made of it”.
A statement
that found detractors among the participating speakers. Among them, Rodríguez
Jaramillo, lawyer and co-founder of Legal block, said that “the developments
and applications that are being made in terms of identity will have great
potential for the settlement of the Blockchain, because they are part of the
infrastructure necessary to enable solutions (based on in Blockchain) where
business is done. It is necessary to have an adequate identification for
security reasons, such as in the matter of anti-terrorism and money laundering,
or for companies to fulfill their responsibilities”.
Simon Olsen,
co-founder of Lykke.com, introduced in the debate the aspect of trust and
control to establish identities. In this regard, and focused from the financial
point of view in which Olsen is an expert, he affirmed that “identity within
the Fin Tech world is related to control; but in reality it is an illusion
because the financial world is based on trust and not control. ”
