The Gibraltar Parliament has unanimously passed a bill that advances the government’s effort to introduce a distributed ledger technology (DLT) framework.

In October, HM Government of Gibraltar published the Financial Services (Distributed Ledger Technology Providers) Regulations 2017 along with a bill for an Act to amend the Financial Services (Investment and Fiduciary Services) Act.

On December 6, 2017, the lawmakers passed the bill which will create a legal basis for the introduction of the new DLT framework, which will come into effect on the 1st January 2018.

The bill was presented by Minister of Commerce Alber Isola. Commenting on the bill’s approval, he said that it is the result of over three years of detailed consultations and represents a tremendous opportunity for long term sustainable growth in the economy in a new and exciting area.

“Gibraltar is one of the first jurisdictions in the world to introduce a regulatory framework for DLT businesses thereby providing the regulatory certainty required by quality firms that we aim to attract to Gibraltar. I am aware that there are a number of businesses waiting to file their applications with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission on 1st January 2018 and this is excellent news,” Isola said.