Lithuania first in Europe to open blockchain hub

VILNIUS, Jan 28 (AFP): Lithuania on Saturday opened what it calls Europe's first blockchain hub, with partners in China and Australia, that aims to accelerate start-ups as the eurozone Baltic state seeks to become a regional financial technology centre.

Created by European Parliament member and entrepreneur Antanas Guoga, the Blockchain Centre Vilnius says it will develop blockchain applications for the business, finance and public administration sectors.

Economy Minister Virginijus Sinkevicius told IT and fintech specialists as well as European Commission and European Central Bank officials who attended the launch that it made Lithuania a "European leader" in blockchain development.

Blockchain technology debuted in 2009 for the leading digital cryptocurrency bitcoin allows for the development of peer-to-peer payment systems.

It runs by recording transactions as "blocks" that are updated in real time on a digitized ledger that can be read from anywhere and does not have a central recordkeeper.