Hackathon will bring blockchain experts around the world together to create new open solutions to the challenges of the post-Covid19 era

Gibraltar – 23 July 2020 – Gibraltar Finance, the business development arm of HM Government of Gibraltar, has been announced as an official partner of the Post-Covid Hackathon, a global, online initiative bringing together a number of teams to create new open-source solutions to overcome the health, economic, social and other challenges of the post-Covid19 era. Hundreds of participants are expected to take part from all over the world, with insights being provided by over 200 industry experts.

The Hackathon has been co-organised by Indorse, a tech skills-matching platform, and Gibraltar based Coinsilium, an investor and advisor supporting early-stage blockchain technology companies and the digital token economy.

Commenting, The Hon. Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s Minister for Digital and Financial Services said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it a range of new global challenges. The introduction of government-led contact-tracing apps, for example, will require strict adherence to data protection measures. I am excited and look forward to seeing the dynamic solutions that will arise from this initiative, geared towards helping global communities adjust to the post-pandemic world. We are happy to support and be a part of this great work.” 

Some of the pertinent challenges that the hackathon will seek to address include enabling financial inclusion; reducing the digital divide; promoting diversity in the tech community and creating improved identity systems.

Commenting, Eddy Travia, CEO of Coinsilium, which relocated its core operations from London to Gibraltar in March 2019 having identified it as one of the most developed jurisdictions for the regulation and licensing of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) companies said, “We are delighted to co-lead this initiative with Indorse and we are very appreciative of the support of HM Government of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Finance as Government Partner. The objective of Post Covid Hack is to mobilise the blockchain community’s coding talent to build open, permission-less solutions and accelerate the Post Covid recovery process. We welcome individuals and organisations to support this initiative and help us shape a positive ‘new normal’.”

The first online events for the hackathon’s partners will begin in August 2020, and the Post-Covid Hackathon will officially launch on August 10th 2020. Along with the Government of Gibraltar, other partners of the Hackathon include RSK, the builder of bitcoin smart contracts, and Tribe Accelerator, a blockchain start-up accelerator seeking to drive collaboration and growth of the blockchain ecosystem. 

Commenting, Gaurang Torvekar, CEO and Co-Founder of Indorse said, “We genuinely believe in the transformational power of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).This online hackathon allows us to harness the benefits of this technology to crowdsource solutions that can benefit humanity as a whole and help us overcome the difficulties posed by the pandemic worldwide..”

“We are delighted to be part of this initiative as enabling financial inclusion through our platforms is our mission.  We really hope that coming together as a community to the service of humanity throughout these challenging times in order to foster creative solutions based on blockchain and RSK technologies will help make a difference”, said Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar, IOVlabs CEO.

For more information, please visit https://postcovidhack.com/. 

Minister for Digital and Financial Services, The Hon Albert Isola MP, is available for interview.

The Hon Albert Isola MP

Minister for Digital and Financial Services, HM Government of Gibraltar

The Hon Albert Isola MP is Gibraltar’s Minister for Digital and Financial Services with the primary responsibility of raising Gibraltar’s profile as a well-regulated commercial centre particularly in the areas for which he has specific responsibility which include financial services, digital technology innovation and online gaming.

Minister Isola previously served as Gibraltar’s Minister for Commerce where he played a central role in driving the creation of the world’s first purpose-built DLT regulatory framework, which became law in January 2018 for firms using blockchain to store or transfer value belonging to others.

He has been a Minister in the Government since his by-election win for Gibraltar’s governing parties, the GSLP/Liberal Alliance, on 4 July 2013. Minister Isola had previously been a GSLP member of the Opposition in the then ‘House of Assembly’ (‘Parliament’ under the new constitution) from 1996 to 2000. Prior to re-entering Parliament, he had been a Partner at a major Gibraltar international law firm since 1985.

During his extensive legal career, Minister Isola gained high-level experience in all aspects of property acquisition, development, and financing as well as financial services. He also regularly acted as an adviser to the Financial Services Commission.

Minister Isola was educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire (1973-1980) and read Law at Kingston University (1980-1983).

About Gibraltar

A British Overseas Territory, Gibraltar is a self-governing and self-financing democracy that has established itself globally as a reliable centre for the blockchain and digital assets industry. In January 2018, Gibraltar became the very first jurisdiction globally to introduce legislation around Distributed-Ledger-Technology (DLT), and has since asserted its position as a leading blockchain and cryptocurrency hub. With Gibraltar’s core values of regulation, reputation, and speed to market at the foundation of its efforts within the blockchain industry, Gibraltar is now globally renowned for its commitment to creating a sustainable and secure regulatory framework for blockchain, as well as being one of the leading proponents in the advancement of the technology. For more information, please visit http://www.gibraltarfinance.gi/en/home

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