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acrossthewavesoftime · 1 year ago

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Do you have any theories as to the cause(s) of Mary and Anne's obstetrical problems?

In fact I do, but II would like to preface my reply with several huge caveats:

This is all mere speculation based on historical information.

I'm not a doctor, so I have no authority to speak on medical issues of any kind.

Even a doctor could not form a concrete diagnosis based on what little historical circumstantial evidence there is; they would have to examine the person in question for that, which is naturally not really possible if we're talking about someone who died in 1694.

With that out of the way, here's what I think: It may not have been the same medical issue for both sisters. While Mary struggled to conceive, Anne's children often were stillbirths or died very shortly after birth. I know a lot more about Mary, though, than Anne.

Mary was married extremely young; she was 15, and just a few months shy of her 16th birthday when she was sure that she was pregnant. Now, the body of a person this young is absolutely not meant to be pregnant, and I wonder if that may have been a factor triggering the first miscarriage, with the rough carriage ride to Breda, where she wanted to meet her husband while the latter was on campaign, also factoring in.

As far as was reported, the miscarriage proved pretty hazardous for Mary's health, keeping her abed for weeks. To me, it seems likely that she may have sustained internal injuries that may have prevented her from ever successfully carrying a child to term.

There is an interesting detail that causes me to suspect that Mary and her physicians had a similar suspicion: In the late 1680s, Justine Siegmund was a guest at the court of the Hague.

Justine Siegmund, ca. 1690.

Justine Siegmund was the officially appointed midwife to the electoral court of Brandenburg, and had delivered a great many children of the German royalty and nobility, while still attending other births in the Berlin area.

Siegmund had initially started to become interested in gynecology and obstetrics after she had suffered a uterine prolapse at the age of 20. The midwives her husband had consulted had been unhelpful and diagnosed a false pregnancy (a diagnosis that was uttered in connection to Mary's last pregnancy, too), causing Siegmund to feel not taken seriously, and suffering a lot of pain as a result of not receiving adequate medical care.

Following her own traumatic experience, Siegmund trained to become a midwife herself in order to improve conditions for other women.

She rose to become the city midwife of Legnica in 1670, and in time was appointed to the court of Brandenburg by Friedrich Wilhelm "The Great Elector" in 1683.

Said elector had been married to Louise Henriette of Orange for his first marriage, who had been William's aunt. The elector had also played a role in William's guardianship during his minority, and of the Brandenburg children, William had reportedly been pparticularly close with the oldest, Karl Emil, who died in his late teens. Friedrich, the next eldest brother, would become the first King in Prussia and became elector in 1688, the same year his father died and Justine Siegmund may have arrived at the Dutch court.

Given her prominent position as court midwife, it looks as if Friedrich sent Wiliam and Mary Justine Siegmund for a consultation. Their struggle to conceive was discussed openly enough among their family; Sophie von Hannover, for instance, also weighed in on it in letters.

For Justine Siegmund, the trip to The Hague must have been a professional success; not only did it prove that the electoral court held her in high esteem, the Netherlands, and especially the medical faculty at Leiden, were the ideal place for a medical professional to meet new people and exchange ideas. Among her contacts, and contributing anatomical engravings for the handbook for midwives Siegmund was writing, was Govard Bidloo, who in 1695 would be appointed to the unenviable post of personal physician to William III.

What made her so special among other midwives of her age was not just her position at court: while it was customary for midwives to be women who had born a child of their own, Siegmund never had any children.

She also, and this is where things get quite interesting, performed medical interventions that went beyond monitoring pregnancies and assisting during birth. Indeed, what first caught the eye of male medical doctors of the time was not a particularly difficult birth she helped to bring to a successful conclusion, it was the removal of the Duchess of Legnica's cervical tumor.

So while her official title was that of a midwife, Siegmund's expertise was also in the field of gynecological surgery.

To me, it would make perfect sense that Siegmund was sent from Brandenburg to the Netherlands in order to examine Mary, and, if possible, perform an operation on her to 'fix' whatever prevented her from having children.

In time, Siegmund returned to Brandenburg. What she may have discussed with Mary and William remains mere conjecture, but I would consider it likely that she informed them of the impossibility of another pregnancy due to the injuries Mary had sustained a decade earlier.

So, all things considered, I think that Mary was a victim of marriage politics; although it is mere conjecture, it seems likely that, had she been married later, and thus had started to try for a baby at a somewhat more advanced age (say, in her early 20s), the chances for a successful pregnancy, birth and subsequently healthy mother and infant would have been drastically increased.

As for Anne, I reach the limitations of my deducting based on historical circumstantial evidence. I simply have not come across enough sources pertaining to Anne's reproductive health yet, and don't have the medical background knowledge to speculate with reasonable certanty on possible conditions.

Perhaps her lifestyle (which was an inescapable cycle of never ending pregnancies, being therefore prescribed to rest and good food being one of the few things she could indulge in at the time) may have contributed to her struggling with giving birth to a healthy child; to this day, doctors will (and are in some places even mandated to) warn expectant mothers who fall into a medical definition of being overweight that their weight might impact the development of their child adversely.

This is very likely not the sole reason and more of an additional, contributing factor, but it is the only speculation on the subject of Anne that I can comfortably express without veering into the realm of half-baked, and uninformed conjecturing.

Perhaps someone with a much more sound combination of medical and historical knowledge would like to add some commentary or criticism on this?

#tw pregnancy #tw pregnancy loss #tw miscarriage #history #british history #mary ii #william of orange #william iii #justine siegmund #17th century #ask #ask reply #redladydeath #tw child death #tw childbirth #obstetrics #obstetrics and gynecology

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acrossthewavesoftime · 2 years ago

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Adding some of my own favourite people have always been people stories:

A medieval university professor ranting about how his students are lazy party-people who only carry a book around to look smart, and always arrive late and unprepared. (I wish I could tell off the top of my head when and where this was from; I think it was from a 15th century central European source, I might have it in my old notes somewhere)

The Dominican friar Felix Fabri (1438/1439–1502) completed two pilgrimages, on which he kept a journal, which was later published. He surprised his European travelling companions when, renting donkeys from a local businessman for, if I recall correctly, a guided tour to Mount Sinai, the donkey driver-guide recognised him from his first pilgrimage a few years prior. He kissed Felix on the cheek, tried to make conversation with him (Felix had a limited knowledge of Arabic) and showed him preferment throughout the tour by continously giving him a fresh donkey to ride, sharing his water with him and trusting Felix with his whip. Felix, moved by the trust and affection shown to him, recorded the encounter for posterity. The name of the donkey driver was Cassa, an enslaved person. We still know Cassa's name, and can read about his incredible kindness to a near-stranger today.

Mary Henrietta Stuart, Princess of Orange (1631–1660), upon realising that her infant son, the future William III, was not a healthy child whose physical development seemed to be delayed, nicknamed him her "Piccinino" after the 15th century Italian mercenary captain who rose to military fame despite having been of low stature and impeded by a limp and generally poor health.

Justine Siegmund (1636–1705) became an accomplished midwife and gynecological practitioner who published a manual on midwifery in 1690. She chose her profession after having had a possibly traumatic experience having been wrongfully diagnosed as being pregnant by a midwife at 20 or 21, wanting to improve future conditions during pregnancy and childbirth for other women. In a dispute over Siegmund's practices with her former supervisor, a doctor and professor at the university of Frankfurt an der Oder, his colleagues sided with her.

Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (1688–1765) proving that kids will always be kids when he, aged about 3, did what no adult dared to and interrupted King William III in his study to tell him tea was ready, and the Queen already waiting for him. The encounter ended in William putting down his pen straight away, and lifting Lionel into his toy cart, pulling the little boy, presumably at quite some speed, through the gallery.

Samuel Graves (1713–1787), an admiral in the Royal Navy, very likely helped protect his niece's best friend from an arranged marriage. Mary Anne Burges's (1763–1813) parents were intent to marry her off in her late teens, stating that the family money could not support all their daughters in the event of her father's death. While there was a proposal later in life (which Burges turned down), it appears that she had no sexual or romantic interest in men, and was not particularly secretive about that. Burges went on to spend prolonged "holidays" living with her best friend Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim's family, her aunt and uncle Graves, where the girls could be, by all accounts, carefree teenagers. Graves, who appears to have shared his wife's beliefs in women's rights, particularly in their choice to marry or remain single to a significant degree, grew to be a paternal figure in her life. Burges, a published author, remained single for life and later designed Graves's memorial in the local church.

Henry Clinton (1730–1795) fell in love with Mary Baddeley (1756-1820), whom he employed as his housekeeper while stationed in Boston in 1775. Knowing she had previously experienced sexual harrassment, he initially kept his feelings to himself out of respect for her needs. The two eventually became a couple following a one-year separation, shipwreck, and the birth of her son John by her rakish husband. Clinton treated John like a child of his own, and even had wanted to be present for the birth, which an order to march south mere weeks before the likely due date however prevented. John named some of his own children after his quasi-step-siblings from Clinton's marriage to his wife Harriot (d. 1772) and in time also became a loving father and husband to a large family.

litany against the GOTification of history.

#history is full of injustice and cruelty and we mustn't negate that #but #people have always been people #and there are also stories of kindness and love out there that deserve to be told #reblog #werewolfetone #history #15th century #17th century #18th century #medieval history #early modern history

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elucubrare · 7 years ago

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parmandil replied to your post: i’m fairly sure that this is the best video on the...

i hate siegfried but that justin bieber in his early years hairdo is offensive even to me

siegfried is the cute one, siegmund is the sexy one, gunther is the bad boy

#parmandil #i'm so sorry herr wagner #and also to the medieval dude who composed it and doesn't deserve this at all

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halfbloodrp-blog1 · 8 years ago

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THIS IS WAR

For many years, Camp Half Blood has been a place of peace. Besides the occasional monster kills outside the borders, there hasn’t been an all out battle... until now. As far as the demigods know, there is an army of monsters unlike any they’ve seen before coming to camp. Chiron is absolutely confident they can’t cross the borders, and he’s right. But with such a huge congregation of monsters waiting for a battle outside their borders, the demigods will have no choice but to engage. Otherwise, there will never be a way out.

What the demigods don’t know is... this battle was orchestrated by Lyssa, the spirit of mad rage and Maniae, daimones/Goddess of madness, insanity and crazed frenzy that feel neglected by the camp because of no representation or worship. They don’t want to kill the demigod race. No, they want attention from them. But they were still able to convince a congregation of demons and monsters that they want to massacre the entire camp. The monsters believe they are going into war to win but these ancient spirits of rage will make sure no demigod dies. Instead, they will take them as prisoner.

This event technically spans TWO weeks. One week will be the fighting (that ICly only lasts a day) and the other will be the aftermath of the battle when the prisoners are trapped in the dungeon and the survivors are mourning the “deaths” of their comrades (this ICly does last a week.)

Dates:

May 10th - 14th: 1st part, The Battle

May 15th - 19th: 2nd part, The Mourning

May 20th: The War Council meeting (Important to event plot. Post meeting announcement by Chiron will be posted for those who didn’t attend.)

May 21st: The Prisoners return home (event ends)

*** SIGN UP REQUIRED. Please see ‘read more’ for details and directions..

How does this happen?

The campers will watch their fellow half bloods “die” in front of them in battle. These perishing demigods will feel as if their life is slipping away from them and they will appear to be gravely injured. However, this is nothing but a trick by Dolus and Apate, two other spirits committed to Lyssa’s cause. As a monster strikes to kill, the Maniae will disintegrate weapons or stop strikes before they happen. (They will only stop strikes that they know will lead to mortal peril.)

Apate will create the extremely realistic illusions that make it seem as though the demigods were hit and mortally wounded. When the surrounding demigods are distracted, Dolus will then magically transport each of the “dead” demigods to an unknown location where they will be confined to Lyssa’s dungeon for an undetermined amount of time. When the spirits feel they have enough demigods as prisoners, they will fill the remaining monsters with cold fear, causing them to flee and end the battle.

For a week, the leftover campers will be left to mourn their losses and question how the bodies of their fellow campers disappeared... until such a time that the spirits finally contact camp with a deal: promise to build us shrines, or you’ll never get your loved ones back.

How do I participate?

- Camp Bound: Medics, provision suppliers and those too young or afraid to battle that will stay inside the camp borders safely to tend to the incoming wounded and help the fighters with supplies as much as possible for the 1st part of the event . They will mourn their “fallen” warriors for the 2nd part of the event before given the camp is informed by the spirits that they have them as prisoners.

- Survivors: Demigods who fought in the battle and were able to avoid mortal peril and get taken by Dolus for the 1st part of the event. They will mourn their “fallen” comrades for the 2nd part of the event before given the camp is informed by the spirits that they have them as prisoners.

- Prisoners: Demigods who almost got killed outside the borders as fighters or if they were doing something else (like taking injured inside the borders or bringing supplies to the fighters) during the 1st part of the event. They might have avoided the mortal hit or they might not have and truly died but, before either could happen, Apate created the illusion that they died and Dolus took them away to Lyssa’s dungeon. They will feel as if they are dying in the moment that the illusion happens and pass out. Any other demigod who witnessed this will presume them dead but the moment that the others are distracted, Dolus will make their body disappear. These demigods will spend the 2nd part of the event in Lyssa’s dungeon. They, therefore, CAN’T attend the War Council meeting on the 20th.

- Lyssa’s Dungeon: It’s a cramped quarters of just two rooms: one for everyone to sleep and live in for the week and another for tiny one for the bathroom (one toilet, one sink.) There are only a handful of blankets for them to use and nothing more. Prison food will be brought in twice a day. Demigod powers are weaker in this dungeon, the prison bars are immune to powers and there is no way out. The Maniae are guarding the prison.

SIGNUPS

IM or send an ask to the main in order to sign up. Simply state the full name of characters you want to participate and what they will be. (Ex. “Evelyn of Ross = CB, Isabella Kemmerich = Survivor, Aleiya Griffin = Prisoner.”)

What we want: Camp Bound + Survivors should = approx. the amount of Prisoners. (Ex. 20 camp bound and 20 survivors and 40 prisoners.)

Camp Bound (32)

- Evelyn of Ross

- Jonah Thornhill

- Kieran Irwin

- McKenzie Montgomery

- Aidan Kutzner

- Cecily Cohen

- Corinne Gilbert

- Patrick Murphy

- Ali Hakim

- Roa Nam

- Kyle Burke

- Connor Sommers

- Ryder Reynolds

- Nine

- Chloe Fisher

- Jericho Kordel

- Juliet Esposito

- Stargirl Martinez

- Alec Reyes

- Carter Brooks

- Mills Parker

- Karma Casey

- Thomas Tyrell

- Caspian Miller

- Blue de Laurant

- Gale Irwin

- Bethany Clearwater

- Jocelyn Hayes

- Justin Esposito

- Ryker Martin

- Mycah Hewitt

- Cecilia Flowers

Survivors (48)

- Isabella Kemmerich

- Tequila Ross-Quick

- Cara Beure Pars

- Jade Reed

- Lukas Pryor

- Angelique Wright

- Trenton Williams

- Xavier Abbot

- Emilia O’Malley

- Nikolai Tomov

- Lilith Swan

- Delaney Connelly

- Caradoc Tudor

- Renate Cruz

- Malakai Darton

- Victoria Delgado

- Admetus Troy

- Mikhail Covington

- Flynn Castor

- Skyegirl Sinworth

- Cameron Price

- Massie Reynolds

- Isla Cortland

- Leo Martell

- Seth Glendower

- Ciera Dawes

- Erik Darton

- Victor Mathis

- Justin Danvers

- Cassiopeia Casillas

- Dakota Hutchinson

- Sophia de Lavandiere

- Jalex Den

- Melisa Ash

- Adrian Banks

- Caleb Dawson

- Nora Willow

- Eli Montagne

- Ethan Germaine

- Carson Laurens

- Rey Donovan

- Lyndsey Rosier

- Isabella Sanchez

- Kelian Mayfair

- Clara Lockhart

- Miyuki Okumura

- Maddox Siegmund

- Ophelia Contraire

- Blaize Jaynes

- Allison Wilder

Prisoners (52)

- Aleiya Griffin

- Melody Copperlaire

- Karla Sumikura

- Harlow Graham

- Vicki Delgado

- Mattie Kalenburg

- Amelia Grace Cunning

- Aiden Danvers

- Damien Ross

- Keaghan Allen

- Rhysand Locke

- Dominic Luna

- Brandon Williams

- James Emerson

- Elspeth Clarkson

- Elias Holt

- Adamus Finch

- Aaron Montgomery

- Achilles Valenciano

- Grayson Lee

- Quinn Parker

- Bambi Macon

- Alec Vis’Carro

- Drew Piker

- Trixie Carpenter

- Nixon Novac

- Valerie St. Claire

- Juno Collins

- Dove Anderson

- Dahlia-Rose Matthews

- Lena Reinbaum

- Devlin Allen-Broomwell

- Dallas Mugwash

- Rhis Johnson

- Jane Nolan

- Matthew Morrison

- Estrella Pendragon

- Erah Henning

- Charles Grant

- Lucien Holmes

- Jamie Ricci

- Ian Calloway

- Taylor Lightwood

- Aurora Jones

- Ava Diaz

- Bellamy Leighton

- Sefina Collins

- Ashley Luxworth

- Logan Tylin

- Aeron Poindexter

- Luna Sivay

- Jackson Knight

- Lucas Ortega

Other (3)

- Amelia Lyle

- Daphne Eliades

- Azalea Eliades

#hbrp:event

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awesomeblockchain · 7 years ago

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Malta has made it obvious that it wants to become the -Blockchain island" and it seems determined to achieve its goal.

A notable confirmation that Malta is moving in the right direction regarding Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) regulation was the recent announcement by Binance. The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by volume chose Malta for their new headquarters after the warnings received from Japan, China and Hong Kong.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as -CZ", welcomed other projects to Malta such as Tron:

Justin knows where the party is. Welcome to Malta $tron. https://t.co/CX7qtsgOWU

- CZ (@cz_binance) March 26, 2018Silvio Schembri, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy Innovation within the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, commented to Cointelegraph on the news:

-Binance's decision is a vote of confidence in what we're offering as a country and as a Government in this sector, that is legal certainty in this space. During the meeting with CZ I explained our long-term vision reflected in the policy document that was launched in February, 'Malta - A leader in DLT Regulation.' We are not shying away but instead want to unleash the opportunities that holds by regulating the sector without stifling innovation. Ultimately our vision is to make Malta 'The Blockchain Island'."

Why has Binance moved to Malta?Binance wants to offer fiat-to-cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals which will improve its liquidity and open their platform to new investors entering the space with fiat purchases. Currently, very few exchanges offer this option, which forces investors to look for other hedging alternatives such as the stable token Tether to protect themselves from the high volatility and correlation of the cryptocurrency markets.

Malta has warmly welcomed Binance, which hopes to start soon partnerships with local Maltese banks to enable fiat-to-cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals within a few months.

The second goal of Binance's roadmap in Malta is to mitigate the risk posed by their centralized system and provide their customers with a decentralized and trustless solution not only due to an ever increasing demand for ultimate security and transparency but also because of the competition that centralized platforms will face from projects such as Polkadot or Cosmos Network.

These new interoperability entrants, by implementing solutions such as "Peggy" (Ethereum Peg Zone), could trigger the raise of a new kind of decentralized exchanges which can be based on, for example, the 0x protocol, allowing for not only token but also cross Blockchain value exchange.

Furthermore, in the near future, these exchanges could be done in a fully anonymous manner thanks to other interconnected privacy focused chains such as ZCash and its Zk-STARKs or Sentinel Security and its built-in coin mixer.

It is therefore unsurprising that one of the goals of Binance in Malta would be to develop its own decentralized exchange given their awareness of all the upcoming innovations and potential competitors.

Ian Gauci, legal expert for the National Blockchain Strategic Task Force within the Office of the Prime Minister, provided Cointelegraph with his opinion about Binance's decision to move to Malta:

-Usually operators opening in Malta would look at the whole ecosystem and assess the country's potential from that angle. On the DLT front, Malta builds on the excellent reputation and track record in gaming, maritime and financial services. Hence, in my view, the value is already there. This value is further augmented by the country's predisposition to DLT and innovation and the recent announcements on the intended legislative framework in this sector. I believe this was a crucial aspect in attracting Binance and in all likelihood other outfits on DLT and in the crypto sphere might share Binance's view and likewise come to Malta."

Also, a founding member of the Blockchain Malta Association, Leon Siegmund, shared with Cointelegraph his thoughts about the current developments in DLT regulation in Malta:

-Entrepreneurs in the Blockchain field need a business environment and clear, simple rules that are long-term guaranteed. Binance delivers a service trusted by millions of users worldwide and provides high quality employment of which the Maltese economy will benefit. Ultimately, it is undoubtedly clear that blockchain and Bitcoin is beyond the stage of being just a hype or underground experiment with millions of people investing - it will bring decades of prosperity."

Maltese Blockchain regulationsMalta has been proactive and efficient in its efforts to provide a legal framework for DLT. A consultation document related to the enactment of three proposed pieces of legislation was open for feedback until early March. These three pieces of legislation are summarized as follows:

- MDIA (Malta Digital Innovation Authority) BillFirstly, the MDIA Bill will consist on the establishment of an authority, the -MDIA". The Minister responsible for Digital Economy will select the Chairman and Board of Governors of the MDIA. The MDIA Bill will also establish the Joint Co-ordination Board (JCB) and its scope will be to ensure effective cooperation between MDIA and other National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in the area of technology uses.

Moreover the MDIA Bill will establish the National Technology Ethics Committee (NTEC) which will ensure that the proper standards of ethics are reflected in the use of relevant Technology Arrangements and to guide other NCAs in Malta.

- Technology Arrangements and Service providers (TAS) BillThe second piece of legislation will be the TAS Bill which will set out the regime for the registration of Technology Service Providers (auditors and administrators of Technology

Arrangements) and the certification of Technology Arrangements (DLT platforms and related smart contracts).

The MDIA will be the national competent authority responsible for these registrations and certifications. The proposition is that any person will be able, on a voluntary basis, to request the MDIA to certify a Technology Arrangement or to register a Technology Service Provider.

- Virtual Currencies (VC) BillFinally, the VC Bill will provide the regulatory regime and framework for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and for the provision of certain services related to VCs. This regime will cover brokers, exchanges, wallet providers, advisors, wealth managers and market makers dealing in VCs.

Some examples of practical applications of the above proposed legislation would be the certification of a DLT platform or the approval of an ICO. The proposed framework is intended to be pragmatic and applied to regulate the carrying on of business related to VCs when falling out of scope of existing European Union (EU) or Maltese financial services legislation.

A -Financial Instrument Test" will be applied to issuers and/or persons offering ICOs conducted in or from Malta to determine whether an ICO/VC is classified as a financial instrument in terms of existing investment services legislation such as the Markets In Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).

This -Financial Instrument Test" will have two stages. The first one will be to determine whether a particular VC falls under EU or Maltese existing legislation. The second stage would then determine whether the VC qualifies as an asset under the VC Bill. An affirmative determination during the first stage would not require the person undertaking the test to proceed to the second stage.

The prime minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, and Silvio Schembri, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy Innovation within the Office of the Prime Minister, tweeted about their enthusiasm, leadership and constant meetings with operators within the DLT sphere wishing to move to Malta:

Today we issued a document which provides guidance on the use of #DLT and #Crypto #Currency in #Gaming in #Malta. #blockchain #DeltaSummit https://t.co/ero5NBaruE

- Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) March 29, 2018Towards more adoptionLedger projects based in Malta have created LP 01, the first DLT application in Malta consisting of a property transfer management system to facilitate notarial work. This platform could be a useful tool for authorities to access real-time data about sales of property in Malta.

Also, ES, which is a leading boutique law firm in Malta, would offer services related to ICOs such as ICO set-up, legal services or tokenomics. Several companies are already accepting Bitcoin payments in Malta and there are Bitcoin ATMs present as well. This illustrates a growing use of DLT in Maltese society.

The local press is also discussing DLT issues frequently as can be seen in some recent articles from Times of Malta, Lovin Malta or Malta Independent.

The frictions among regulations, privacy protection and innovation continue. However, while some countries choose not to dialogue or embrace these breakthrough DLT innovations by updating and improving their existing legislation, other countries such as Malta have the courage and initiative to be pioneer leaders. Malta, with the proposed legislation and Binance's announcement to move its headquarters there, is quickly positioning itself firmly to truly become the -Blockchain island".

https://ift.tt/2II2ON7

#Ingentium #Inc. - Today

0 notes

kingmindint · 7 years ago

Text

Malta Determined To Become the ‘Blockchain Island’: Regulations, Adoption, Binance Headquarters

Maltese pioneer legal framework for DLT aims to regulate the sector without stifling innovation and attracts Binance and other major players

Malta has made it obvious that it wants to become the “Blockchain island” and it seems determined to achieve its goal.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as “CZ”, welcomed other projects to Malta such as Tron:

Justin knows where the party is. Welcome to Malta $tron. https://t.co/CX7qtsgOWU

— CZ (@cz_binance) March 26, 2018

Silvio Schembri, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy & Innovation within the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, commented to Cointelegraph on the news:

“Binance’s decision is a vote of confidence in what we’re offering as a country and as a Government in this sector, that is legal certainty in this space. During the meeting with CZ I explained our long-term vision reflected in the policy document that was launched in February, ‘Malta – A leader in DLT Regulation.’ We are not shying away but instead want to unleash the opportunities that holds by regulating the sector without stifling innovation. Ultimately our vision is to make Malta ‘The Blockchain Island’.”

Why has Binance moved to Malta?

Binance wants to offer fiat-to-cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals which will improve its liquidity and open their platform to new investors entering the space with fiat purchases. Currently, very few exchanges offer this option, which forces investors to look for other hedging alternatives such as the stable token Tether to protect themselves from the high volatility and correlation of the cryptocurrency markets.

Malta has warmly welcomed Binance, which hopes to start soon partnerships with local Maltese banks to enable fiat-to-cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals within a few months.

The second goal of Binance’s roadmap in Malta is to mitigate the risk posed by their centralized system and provide their customers with a decentralized and trustless solution not only due to an ever increasing demand for ultimate security and transparency but also because of the competition that centralized platforms will face from projects such as Polkadot or Cosmos Network.

These new interoperability entrants, by implementing solutions such as “Peggy” (Ethereum Peg Zone), could trigger the raise of a new kind of decentralized exchanges which can be based on, for example, the 0x protocol, allowing for not only token but also cross Blockchain value exchange.

Ian Gauci, legal expert for the National Blockchain Strategic Task Force within the Office of the Prime Minister, provided Cointelegraph with his opinion about Binance’s decision to move to Malta:

“Usually operators opening in Malta would look at the whole ecosystem and assess the country’s potential from that angle. On the DLT front, Malta builds on the excellent reputation and track record in gaming, maritime and financial services. Hence, in my view, the value is already there. This value is further augmented by the country’s predisposition to DLT and innovation and the recent announcements on the intended legislative framework in this sector. I believe this was a crucial aspect in attracting Binance and in all likelihood other outfits on DLT and in the crypto sphere might share Binance’s view and likewise come to Malta.”

Also, a founding member of the Blockchain Malta Association, Leon Siegmund, shared with Cointelegraph his thoughts about the current developments in DLT regulation in Malta:

“Entrepreneurs in the Blockchain field need a business environment and clear, simple rules that are long-term guaranteed. Binance delivers a service trusted by millions of users worldwide and provides high quality employment of which the Maltese economy will benefit. Ultimately, it is undoubtedly clear that blockchain and Bitcoin is beyond the stage of being just a hype or underground experiment with millions of people investing – it will bring decades of prosperity.”

Maltese Blockchain regulations

Malta has been proactive and efficient in its efforts to provide a legal framework for DLT. A consultation document related to the enactment of three proposed pieces of legislation was open for feedback until early March. These three pieces of legislation are summarized as follows:

– MDIA (Malta Digital Innovation Authority) Bill

Firstly, the MDIA Bill will consist on the establishment of an authority, the “MDIA”. The Minister responsible for Digital Economy will select the Chairman and Board of Governors of the MDIA. The MDIA Bill will also establish the Joint Co-ordination Board (JCB) and its scope will be to ensure effective cooperation between MDIA and other National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in the area of technology uses.

– Technology Arrangements and Service providers (TAS) Bill

The second piece of legislation will be the TAS Bill which will set out the regime for the registration of Technology Service Providers (auditors and administrators of Technology Arrangements) and the certification of Technology Arrangements (DLT platforms and related smart contracts).

– Virtual Currencies (VC) Bill

Finally, the VC Bill will provide the regulatory regime and framework for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and for the provision of certain services related to VCs. This regime will cover brokers, exchanges, wallet providers, advisors, wealth managers and market makers dealing in VCs.

A “Financial Instrument Test” will be applied to issuers and/or persons offering ICOs conducted in or from Malta to determine whether an ICO/VC is classified as a financial instrument in terms of existing investment services legislation such as the Markets In Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).

This “Financial Instrument Test” will have two stages. The first one will be to determine whether a particular VC falls under EU or Maltese existing legislation. The second stage would then determine whether the VC qualifies as an asset under the VC Bill. An affirmative determination during the first stage would not require the person undertaking the test to proceed to the second stage.

The prime minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, and Silvio Schembri, Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy & Innovation within the Office of the Prime Minister, tweeted about their enthusiasm, leadership and constant meetings with operators within the DLT sphere wishing to move to Malta:

Today we issued a document which provides guidance on the use of #DLT and #Crypto #Currency in #Gaming in #Malta. #blockchain #DeltaSummit https://t.co/ero5NBaruE

— Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) March 29, 2018

Towards more adoption

Ledger projects based in Malta have created LP 01, the first DLT application in Malta consisting of a property transfer management system to facilitate notarial work. This platform could be a useful tool for authorities to access real-time data about sales of property in Malta.

Also, E&S, which is a leading boutique law firm in Malta, would offer services related to ICOs such as ICO set-up, legal services or tokenomics. Several companies are already accepting Bitcoin payments in Malta and there are Bitcoin ATMs present as well. This illustrates a growing use of DLT in Maltese society.

The local press is also discussing DLT issues frequently as can be seen in some recent articles from Times of Malta, Lovin Malta or Malta Independent.

The frictions among regulations, privacy protection and innovation continue. However, while some countries choose not to dialogue or embrace these breakthrough DLT innovations by updating and improving their existing legislation, other countries such as Malta have the courage and initiative to be pioneer leaders. Malta, with the proposed legislation and Binance’s announcement to move its headquarters there, is quickly positioning itself firmly to truly become the “Blockchain island”.

Source

The post Malta Determined To Become the ‘Blockchain Island’: Regulations, Adoption, Binance Headquarters appeared first on Bitcoin Geek.

via Kingmind Malta Determined To Become the ‘Blockchain Island’: Regulations, Adoption, Binance Headquarters

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