Malta is one of the latest countries to join the blockchain trend, as it announced a partnership with Omnitude which will see the usage of blockchain tech to boost its public transportation system. 

Omnitude – a middleware blockchain platform created with the aim of bridging the gap between commercial business and blockchain technology - will operate its middleware technology in order to develop a strategic transport and logistics platform. 

The pioneering blockchain business was first founded as an e-commerce agency. It was later expanded to provide blockchain solutions that fuse enterprise programs and supply chains.

Ian Borg, Malta’s Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, announced in a press release: “We believe in Omnitude’s blockchain technology and its broad use-cases for the government. We can see its potential in a range of government departments and it will form a cornerstone technology platform as part of our commitment to drive forward innovation. It will improve the quality of life and enhance access to information for Maltese citizens. Blockchain technology is a key part of our national technology strategy that will see us transform different sectors.”

The Mediterranean island has now become one of the first nations to adopt a national proposal based on blockchain technology, following its approval earlier this year. 

CEO and founder of Omnitude Chris Painter argued that “governments around the world are beginning to see the potential for blockchain to reduce costs and streamline services. Malta has an extremely progressive government and we’re excited about the potential this partnership brings. As a middleware technology, Omnitude’s potential use-cases are cast and we look forward to working with the Maltese government to explore the capabilities of Omnitude’s broad-based blockchain ecosystem.” 

Despite only boarding the blockchain bandwagon in March 2018, the island nation has fast worked towards becoming a European Bitcoin hotspot. It recently welcomed the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance to its shores, after the Hong Kong-based company endured regulatory scrutiny in its home continent. Demanding a fresh start, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by traded value quickly found its new residency in the Mediterranean. 

Weeks after the company’s relocation in March 2018, Japanese trading exchange OKEx and blockchain-based equity fundraising platform Neufund also posted the opening of new offices in Malta. 

The island nation has since continued to expand on its blockchain tech developments, as it proposed three new cryptocurrency bills: the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill, designed to improve governance arrangements and manage the legality of distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms; the Technology Arrangements and Services Bill, which will demand technology service providers to undertake a registration process; and the Virtual Financial Assets Bill, created to impose regulatory authority on initial coin offerings (ICOs).