Blockchain technology could help put an end to taxes and lift some people out of poverty, according to thought-leaders who spoke to Lovin Malta on the sidelines of Malta Blockchain Summit.

Cryptocurrency evangelist John McAfee predicted that the next big thing will be privacy coins, like Monero and Bitcoin Private. These would make it impossible for governments and institutions to monitor a person’s income and accumulated wealth, creating a barrier to taxation.

“I believe when people begin to understand the lack of privacy that exists in cryptocurrency, the privacy coins are going to take off and they will sort of rule the world, I believe privacy coins will start to restrict governments. If the government does not know how much income you have, where you spend your money, what your sales are, how can they tax you?”

Asked if he envisions a future without taxes, and whether that would be a good thing, he said: “Of course, unless you want to believe the everyone is honest. Unless you think people are going to say ‘Oh yes, I made $2 million and here’s the amount, sure. Some people may do that but most people will not. For example the government says you may not smoke marijuana. That’s a law. Now if you’re an honest person you say, gosh i’m not going to smoke, I can’t. Does that matter? No you’re going to do it anyway. So governments will have to find alternative means of revenue.”

Lovin Blockchain also spoke to representatives from CFX, who are currently promoting their upcoming Security Token Offering for a fund that makes use of their Highly Advanced Trading System (HATS), which makes use of artificial intelligence.

“Every investor would like a higher return but also wants a low risk. Well that’s almost impossible. But through technology today it has become possible. And CFX has found a way to do it,” says Virgilio Degiovanni, a strategic advisor of CFX.

CFX is also working on another product called SURF, which intends to bring financial investment to some of the poorest people in the world.

“We are discussing with peer-to-peer lending companies in order to give people that don’t even have money to eat, the money to invest. We invest the money lent to them and guarantee this money, so the risk is ours not them. Then we give them a return, and we also give them education.”

Another protagonist in this week’s Lovin Blockchain is Brian Wong, a 27-year-old based in San Francisco, who raised €32 million when he was just 19. He praised Malta’s can-do attitude on Blockchain and said entrepreneurs welcome the regulation imposed by the island.

“We do want to work with regulation and laws. I think the reputation of some Blockchain entrepreneurs is not that we want to skirt it but we want to know there are certainties. And once you set those the rest of the world watches. And I think it’s the I-don’t-care attitude (of Malta). Like ‘we’re just going to do it’, which is great,” he said.

Lovin Blockchain is sponsored by OKEx, CFX, Kyrrex and Finance Malta.

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Chris Peregin

Christian is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who founded Lovin Malta, a new media company dedicated to creating positive impact in society. He is passionate about justice, public finances and finding ways to build a better future.