Businesses Should Use Blockchain Technology, Urges Bahrain Minister

The distributed ledger technology (DLT) is one of the milestones of our era that could help resolve some of the current biggest problems like cybersecurity, said Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza.

Blockchain has great potential, and businesses and entrepreneurs should explore it, Bahrain’s Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza called during a distributed ledger technology (DLT) event in the Kingdom’s capital, local media reported on Wednesday.

The minister opinion is important as Mirza is part of the highest body in the Kingdom that promotes technological development, the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT).

“Technologies such as blockchain take us a huge step forward in finding a secure way to facilitate transactions. Blockchain’s ability to protect users’ data is a true mark of progress, especially due to the fact that it can be applied in different companies from different industries including cybersecurity,” Mirza told attendees as quoted by the Daily Tribune.

Mirza is one of the special guests of SmartSec Cyber Security and Blockchain Conference 2018, which is taking place in Bahrain’s capital this week. DLT has the capabilities to resolve one of the most significant problems in our era – cybersecurity, Mirza explained. Bahrain has serious issues with hackers as its central bank and ATMs were targets of cyber criminals last year.

Blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), can track all activities and it is nearly impossible to change the data without leaving traces. This capability has widened DLT usage in various industries, far beyond the cryptocurrency market.

“The question of information security is very important when we conduct more of our lives digitally, we must ensure that the electricity supply that makes all this [the blockchain] digital technology work safely and immune against cyber-attacks,” Mirza said.

Bahrain is one of the Gulf countries that is very active in the crypto and DLT world. The Kingdom offers regulatory sandbox, where virtual coin companies can test their ideas in a safe and friendly atmosphere.

In July, Stellar Development Foundation, the body that develops the Stellar Lumens (XLM) cryptocurrency, received Bahrain’s Sharia compliance certification, an authorization, which covers money transfers and asset tokenization services.