Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation in the Government of Malta Silvio Schembri announced that the nation’s business registry (MBR) will employ blockchain, local financial service firm Zeta reports on July 31.

First blockchain-based government agency?

Per the report, when making his remarks at the Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muscat’s inauguration of the new premises of the MBR on June 28, Schembri also claimed that the initiative will create the first government agency to be run on a blockchain-based system and artificial intelligence.

The news has been seemingly confirmed by the official account of the Italian-Maltese Chamber of Commerce, which has published a link to the article.

Less bureaucracy, more transparency

According to a report by local news outlet Malta Independent, Schembri further explained that the goal is to increase the system’s efficiency and lessen unnecessary bureaucratic procedures through an extensive investment in information technology. The new MBR will also allegedly allow for new services that were previously not possible.

The country’s prime minister Dr. Muscat reportedly said during his inaugural speech that the development complements the broader modernization process that the Malta Financial Services Authority started.

As Cointelegraph illustrated in the second part of its documentary dedicated to the place now known in the industry as the “blockchain island” published earlier this month, Malta is becoming the global capital of blockchain-based developments.