Some interesting blockchain-related reports have emerged from the Spanish parliament, as the lawmakers have proposed a bill, which would see the distributed ledger technology implemented across the range of Spanish public administration operations.

133 members of the ruling Partido Popular party have backed the bill that was introduced to the Spanish Congress on June 22nd. It has not been reviewed by other members of the Congress so far and the official government website is yet to provide any further information on its details and specifications.

Nonetheless, it is expected that using the nascent technology would greatly increase the transparency in the public sector while also increasing the efficiency of routine administrative tasks at the same time.

The bill is the latest of blockchain-based developments formally encouraged by the Spanish government, as the country continues to position itself as one of the most crypto-savvy nations globally.

In February, Partido Popular officially discussed offering tax breaks to blockchain companies and crypto exchanges. The ruling party also considered setting a threshold and those crypto aficionados who do not reach it, would not be required to report their crypto-related earnings.

The official deputy said at the time that, “We want to set up Europe’s safest framework to invest in ICOs.”

Following the Partido Popular initiative, another major party, the Partido Ciudadanos, has introduced its own bill, which seeks to establish clear rules, regulations and obligations for those working with virtual currencies.

If that weren’t enough, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, a third major party, put forward another bill that asked to authorize a study on digital currency adoption trends. The basis for the study would be experiences of other countries that already have some crypto regulations.

Even though none of these bills have been addressed and put for a vote by the Spanish government, answers are expected by the end of 2018. With all major political powers in Spain looking favourably towards the blockchain industry, we should expect at least some positive news, once the decisions are made.

However, as is the case in all countries around the globe, crypto naysayers have emerged in Spain as well. Speaking in April, Luis Maria Linde, chairman of the Spanish Central Bank, has claimed that, “Cryptocurrencies have low acceptance as a means of payment, suffer extreme volatility, present multiple operational vulnerabilities and have been related to fraudulent or illicit activities in many cases.”

Despite the criticism, the chairman has stayed in line with many prominent business and political figures bashing digital currencies but praising blockchain technology. Mr. Linde stressed that new opportunities, provided by the distributed ledger technology, could significantly change a number of industries.

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