General Annual Meeting 2018
The General Annual Meeting was hosted on the 3rd of May. There was a great turnout with around 80 people in the Icelandic crypto and blockchain community attending. Additionally, a total of 38 IBF members showed up to cast votes. After the meeting, a small celebration was hosted with both food and beverages. The atmosphere was energetic with the headcount growing as the night went on, including crypto-enthusiasts from Canada, the U.S., and Russia.
|
Organizational Name Change
Members voted unanimously to rename the organization from Auraráð to Rafmyntaráð and Icelandic Blockchain Foundation (English monicker). The new name allows us to go beyond a single cryptocurrency and focus on the whole ecosystem, as well as the underlying blockchain technology.
|
Board and Governance
It was decided to increase the Board size from three to five persons, with three reserve Board members. There were 13 candidates and the results were as follows.
Board Members are:
Gísli Kristjánsson
Pétur Árnason
Christopher McClure
Hlynur Þór Björnsson
Hermann Ingi Finnbjörnsson
Reserve Board Members are:
Valur Þór Gunnarsson
Kristinn Steinar Kristinsson
Jón Þórarinn Úlfsson
Hlynur Þór Björnsson was voted in as the Chairman of the Board.
|
Managing Director in a Full Position
During the General Meeting, Kristján Ingi Mikaelsson, the new Managing Director of the IBF was introduced. Kristján will manage the day-to-day operations, as well as acting as a supporting network for the subgroups. We are delighted to have Kristjan and look forward to working with him.
|
Rebranding
The website and the overall brand for the Foundation is currently being reworked, and we can’t wait to show the results of that work. We expect the band to be professional, but also unique at the same time. This work should be done by the end of July 2018.
|
OECD Workshop on Digital Financial Assets
Kristján, the Managing Director of IBF, attended an OECD workshop centered around regulatory challenges, as well as opportunities that blockchain and cryptocurrencies bring to the table. The Head of Tax Investigation in Iceland, as well as a representative from the tax office, also attended.
It is clear that we will have to work together towards making Iceland a player in this space since many nations and organizations are ramping up their efforts. We are drafting a blog post on the workshop that will be released soon.
|
Registration and Groups
There are many groups that exist within the Foundation along with the board and the Managing Director. We encourage you to join some of the groups that are currently operating, or that you form a group around a topic of interest. Some of the working groups that have been formed are around mining, adoption, education, events, ICOs and trading.
You can register into the Foundation at https://register.ibf.is. We will process the current batch of registrations next week.
|
Open Office Hours
We are opening up our HQ, at Engjateigur 3, to everyone who wants to come and talk to us. Open office hours will be hosted every Tuesdays between 13:30 and 15:30. Reach out to us via [email protected] to book a meeting and come over for a cup of coffee!
|
Cryptocurrencies Defined in a New Bill
The Ministry of Justice proposed an amendment to the current anti-money laundering regulation that involves the first definition of cryptocurrencies in the Icelandic law. IBF was asked to comment, and we created a report that can be read here. It is not clear if the bill passes before the summer break, but if it does, all businesses that offer exchange services will have to register with the FME (The Financial Supervisory Authority) within one month of the law passing.
It is essential to pass legislation that impedes illegal activity, but we have to make sure that the regulation is fair and not a burden to people and businesses innovating in this space. The Icelandic Blockchain Foundation will continue to push for a broader vision for Iceland as a whole and assist the government in the implementation of further regulation.
|
