By Julio Gil-Pulgar,
Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and other technology giants have reached such importance and power that “they merit their own ambassador,” says Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen, Politiken reported. Concurrently, Denmark continues its efforts towards becoming a cashless society.
The First Digital Ambassador
Building a cashless society and attracting investments from technology companies are Denmark’s primary objectives.
In this connection, Denmark might become the first country to appoint a special ambassador to represent Denmark’s interests to the world’s largest technology companies.
According to Politiken, the “digital ambassador” would deal with multinational technology giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. These corporations are now so large in terms of economic strength and influence that they surpass many of the countries where Denmark has traditional ambassadors.
“These companies have become a kind of new nation, and we have to deal with,” points out Samuelsen.
Building a Digital Future
For Denmark, being Bitcoin and technology friendly is proving to be beneficial. Denmark’s general good attitude toward technology is already giving dividends.
For example, Denmark is attracting significant investments from powerful corporations.
Facebook plans to establish a massive data center in the third-largest city Odense. “The decision follows Apple’s billion DKK investment in a data center in Viborg in Western Denmark in 2015 and strengthens Denmark’s position as an attractive location for global data centers,” according to a publication from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Facebook’s choice of Denmark is largely due to our effective and attractive business environment. Denmark has earned top international rankings – most recently as number six in Forbes’ 2016 “Best Country for Business,” says Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Brian Mikkelsen.
“Now we should put our efforts into matching our business development to a still more digital future. Data centers are part of the way forward.”
Denmark is a Friend of Bitcoin
Denmark is recognized as an innovation leader in many areas, such as biotech, pharmaceutical sciences, IT, telecommunications, and design.
The country is also considered a frontrunner in financial technology. In this regard, Denmark is one of the top Bitcoin-friendly countries. It was one of the first countries to declare that Bitcoin trades were tax-free. Moreover, in March 2014, the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Denmark announced that the cryptocurrency was not money.
Anders Samuelsen is familiar to Bitcoin. His political party, the Liberal Alliance, accepts donations in bitcoins.
Additionally, in 2014, the Liberal Alliance was the first party to use Bitcoin’s blockchain technology in an internal election.
Building a Cashless Society
Denmark is leading the drive to eliminate cash altogether, and experts believe it might become be the first cashless society country.
Moreover, the Danish Central Bank is considering using blockchain to create a digital currency, E-Krone, to reduce transaction costs, especially on micropayments.
Denmark’s neighbors, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, are also heading towards a cashless society.
Social media and Internet companies’ power is becoming ever more pervasive, even in the realm of financial services.
Logically, tech companies have the expertise and means to make a substantial contribution to helping build a cashless society.
Denmark’s digital ambassador will certainly have to deal with technology corporations attracted to the country’s efforts to improve its business environment while advancing towards a cashless society.
In addition, the digital ambassador will need to bear in mind the virtues that Bitcoin offers to create an efficient, cheap, fast, secure, and frictionless payment system.