Estonia May Soon Launch the World’s First Government ICO

Here’s something interesting. Estonia, a northern European country where access to wifi is a basic human right, appears to be toying with the idea of raising funds through an ICO.

Writing in Medium, Estonia’s e-Residency program director Kaspar Korjus hinted that a proposal has been made for Estonia to issue its own cryptocurrency – called Estcoins – via ICO, and went on to detail how it all could work. Here’s a short snippet:

Several countries have begun experimenting with the introduction of their own digital currencies and China has even developed a prototype cryptocurrency that could one day be put into circulation.

However, Estonia has a clear advantage in this area due to its advanced digital infrastructure and its e-Residency programme. No other country has come close to developing both the technology and the legal frameworks that would enable them to introduce and securely manage tradable crypto assets globally.

Korjus goes on to outline the pros of a government-backed ICO, including how it would literally give citizens “a bigger stake” in the future of their country.

Before anyone gets excited however, Korjus was quick to point out that this is far from national policy, though he did say that the idea does have potential to become reality.

Now, we don’t know if this is actually going to happen or not but at the very least, Estonia’s possible ICO does add some legitimacy to the whole coin offering scene. Let’s see how it goes.

Photo: Dennis Jarvis