We interviewed the president of Alastria, Miguel Ángel Domínguez. Alastria is a non-profit association founded in 2017, which aims to promote Blockchain technology.

What is Alastria and how was it created?

Alastria is a miracle. In Spain it is difficult for us to agree to face big challenges, but when we do we achieve incredible things, and Alastria was created as a place where everyone agreed, with collaboration, thinking that we could do something important with this blockchain technology globally. In this way, it is a neutral meeting point for all large and small companies interested in decentralized technologies. The project was born in 2017 and today we have almost 600 members, very diverse. There are companies of all sizes and sectors, we also have public and private universities, foundations, technology and scientific parks, and of course, public administration at all levels.

How does Alastria face the future in this new post-pandemic era?

With great enthusiasm, for the opportunities that the pandemic has given us. At Alastrian, we set out to create a new sustainable industry with blockchain technology and essential public-private partnerships. A joint commitment to acceleration is necessary to take over the digitization of the Spanish economy and create a multiplier effect. The funds provided for in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan represent a unique opportunity and our aim is to reach a part of these funds to our partners. And finally, we want our partners to be able to export their technology to the whole world.

Who is Alastria open to? Who can be a part?

Alastria is an association open to all types of companies and entities; It is an inclusive association that seeks the democratization of blockchain technology. One of the advantages of our ecosystem is its diversity, SMEs can be in contact with large ones and can do projects together. In working groups, companies collaborate, regardless of their size or sector, because they have common interests in the use of technology. Any company, large, medium or small, and of course all public or private organizations can be members of Alastria.

How many uses do Spanish companies make of Blockchain?

Blockchain will change the whole world, and we know that. Therefore, its use will spread not only in Spain but also throughout the world. Blockchain is currently a very promising technology, but in Spain it is still in its infancy. We recently published a study on the innovation and use of blockchain in Spain, which we carried out in collaboration with the Cotec Foundation, and the results indicate that technological SMEs are incorporating the blockchain, in many cases already in production, but mass adoption is still lacking. 69% of companies that already use blockchain consider it a strategic priority and 28% use it to innovate in their sector. This data tells us that companies are increasingly understanding the potential of blockchain, but there is still a long way to go.

How does the emergence of new technologies, such as the Metaverse, affect Blockchain?

For Blockchain, the metaverse is a blessing. In the new metaverse, payments and value transfer need to be made, for which Blockchain is a crucial player, so new metaverses will surely use Blockchain.

Let's remember that Blockchain is an enabling technology that, combined with other exponential technologies, can create even more opportunities. In the metaverse, advances in immersive technology and new virtual reality gadgets join tokenization and decentralization.