Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association’s First Official Event Was a Huge Success
Miami, FL. Wednesday, June 16, 2021. On Thursday, June 3rd, The Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association (The Association) hosted guests at La Placita for a panel discussion on the importance of advocacy and why they relocated to Puerto Rico.
“Today, is a day where we start to get organized,” said Brock Pierce, Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, “[We are] making sure we are providing our elected officials here, there, and everywhere with the best information possible. To empower them with the knowledge they need, so that those that govern, elected, can make the best decisions for us.”
The Association was established to build an inclusive cryptocommunity, create educational opportunities, and to advocate on behalf of its membership.
“It’s all about clarity. It’s also about education, because make no mistake about it, the banks, the investment banks, the incumbents who are being disrupted, they are going and having lunch, breakfast, and dinner, with regulators on a weekly basis if not more,” said Michael Terpin, Founder/CEO of Transform Group, “and we didn’t get a seat at the table until today.”
The Association’s Executive Director, Keiko Yoshino said, “We created this Trade Association because we saw massive gaps in communication between the legislature and decentralized finance world, between the local community and the newly arrived Puerto Ricans.”
The panelists discussed how they found their way to Puerto Rico and why they made the move.
“This was a crowdsourced idea to come down here,” said Terpin.
“All my California friends, all my New York friends, literally every single OG from 2013 that I knew in New York now lives in Puerto Rico,” said David Johnston, Chief Operating Officer of DLT ASA, “these guys gave me the signal, okay that this is where I need to be. This is where I need to be building. It’s not just about ‘oh I am going to go there and I’m signing up for a tax program,’ this is where the real building is happening.”
“I really feel like Puerto Rico could be the next Singapore. For those of us that have spent time seeing the different islands, seeing some of the different spots, Puerto Rico feels like it’s on its way,” said Scott Walker, Co-Founder DNA Fund CasperLabs, and GP at A195 Fund.
“This is not a little virgin island with 50,000 people. This is a metropolis with 3 million plus people on the island, that’s the size of Austin Texas. That is a real tech hub that you can build into a significant ecosystem,” said Johnston, “ I really believe in the next ten to fifteen years, Puerto Rico will be the most prosperous place in the United States. Full stop.”
Taxes, vibrant ecosystems, and long-term prosperity are all benefits to Puerto Rico, but according to Giovanni Mendez, founder of GEO tax, it’s about the transfer of knowledge.
“Become involved. Share the knowledge. I think that’s the best thing that these programs have for Puerto Rico, is the knowledge you guys bring. Whether it is culturally, what it was like to do business here, here, or there, or simply opening the eyes of the youth of new technology, new forms of industry, new ways of doing business.”
In 2012, the Puerto Rican Legislature passed a pair of tax incentives: Act 20, the Export Services Act, and Act 22, the Individual Investors Act, with the aim of attracting entrepreneurs and spurring economic development. As a result, thousands of people have relocated to Puerto Rico in the last few years for a change of lifestyle and favorable tax incentives- no capital gains and corporate tax capped at 4%.
In 2019, Act 60 was passed to update Act 20/22 and clarify that blockchain and crypto businesses were eligible for the incentives. Puerto Rico has continued to demonstrate its commitment to spurring economic development, attracting new talent and business, and positioning the island as a leader in the cryptocurrency space by implementing Act 20/22/60.
“It was so unfortunate that this [Act 60] passed in 2019,” said Mendez “It was effectively legislation, blockchain legislation that was approved. We can say that Puerto Rico has a framework that includes cryptocurrency and blockchain.”
The panel discussion was facilitated by Alexandra Karpova – Co-Founder and CEO, Crypto PR Lab. Attendees also enjoyed authentic local beer and heard stories directly from people who have made the move.
