The small Catalonia, economically vital region of Spain, declared its independence but Madrid promises to keep the region as an integral part of Spain. While governments and opinion leaders around the world rank behind opposing sides, the independent government is seeking to use a national cryptocurrency and blockchain-based residence system.
According to a local newspaper in Spain, the Catalan director of the digital office (called SmartCatalonia) has already visited Estonia several times to understand their digital residence plans. Estonia made headlines when its national currency project was severely slaughtered by the President of the European Central Bank
National Cryptocurrency
While the program of Blockchain residence would be the first in Europe, perhaps the biggest news is that an independent Catalan government would probably not have a central bank, instead choosing a national cryptocurrency. With Russian and Kazakhstan already suggesting national crypto-currencies, the move would not be a big surprise.
In addition, the Government of Catalonia has already received the leadership of Vitalik Buterin on such a platform. According to source:
"This young Canadian of Russian origin advised them to create an ICO for the virtual resident platform, with an initial foreign exchange offer that would match the financing of A business project for the Virtual Resident Program In an ICO, a new cryptocurrency … can be funded within the e-residence ecosystem, which would help create an absolutely independent economic community independent of the regulation of a central bank. "