The referendum
vote for the independence of Catalonia has adversely affected the stock market
in Spain as of early October 2017.
Among the
affected indexes is the IBEX, which registered a 15-month low. Spanish
government bond yields, however, increased by almost 2%.
The
uncertainties due to the referendum and its accompanying protests and violence
have made locally-focused investors jittery. The good news is the impact of the
various events are yet to be felt outside the Iberian Peninsula.
The
Catalonia case seemed to trigger various secessionist movements around the
world. In the US, there is an ongoing effort by the state of California to
separate itself from the federal republic and become an independent country.
These
independence movements are being supported by the innovations of the
information age. Among them are the advent of the Internet, and the
introduction of the cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, and their
underlying Blockchain technology.
- How new Catalonia could rely on Blockchain to govern itself:
The growing
use of the cryptocurrencies could help drive the success of secessionist
movements around the world as digital currencies can be used by separatist
states to finance their own governments by digitizing public sector processes
and systems, including national identity, voting and even healthcare.
The rise of
the virtual currencies could also be a sign that the long-awaited alternative
to the US dollar as the global de-facto currency has already arrived. It
remains to be seen, however, if the cryptocurrencies will be adopted by
mainstream markets worldwide in the near future.
Meanwhile,
in the political arena, right-wing parties are growing in popularity in such
countries as France, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands. In the US and Great
Britain, the political trend is toward division rather than cohesion.
Meanwhile, many governments feel threatened by any potential lack of control
hence the constant efforts to ban Bitcoin.
These are
interesting times, both economically and politically, and there’s no denying
how Blockchain helps play a crucial role in changing times ahead.
Source: Cointelegraph
Source: Cointelegraph
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