Brexit just got a lot more difficult. At the beginning of last week, the British Parliament overruled Prime Minister’s Theresa May’s plan for a so-called “soft Brexit” – an arrangement whereby the UK would still exit the EU, but would adhere to most of the diplomatic and trade agreements that it accepted while a member. Such a solution would be preferable to the UK, as it would keep its economy from the shock it would likely experience after departing from the single-currency union.
As if that wasn’t enough, European MP’s ridiculed May’s proposals, pointing out that they see no reason why Britain should be able to have their cake and eat it too. In other words – the rest of the EU sees no reason to consent to giving the UK preferential trade arrangements after the latter decided to quit the trading block, completely of its own volition. The remaining EU members, for the most part, have zero sympathy for Britain’s mad dash for the exit door and feel that any negative fallout that the UK economy might suffer as a result of Brexit, is a direct result of Britain’s choices.
Complexities of Brexit
The issue of Brexit is complicated due to financial and geopolitical multiple considerations. On the financial front, there are fears that Brexit could wreak havoc on the British economy by severely disrupting existing chains of supply. Since the UK will no longer have duty-free access to the European market, this could severely affect its exports.
The geopolitical concerns relate to, Ireland remains an EU member and any complications on the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland (which remains part of the UK) are extremely undesirable in light of the area’s troubled history.
The remaining EU member states are concerned that the above-mentioned turbulence could affect their economies and so, due to all these considerations, preventing any potential complications is of great importance to both the UK and EU.
Ethereum and Brexit
One way to potentially ease the difficulties posed by Brexit is to utilize technology, and specifically Ethereum-based smart contracts. After the UK quits the EU, tremendous amounts of information will would have to be processed in order to create and maintain the new customs barrier that would come into existence. If there was a way to delegate this task, then it could potentially save limitless man-hours of work, and money. This task could potentially be handled by Ethereum-based smart contracts, as per a recent a white paper which was recently presented to the British Parliament suggested.
The authors of this white paper posit that blockchain technology can greatly facilitate data sharing across borders, such as data about the entire chain of transactions for each, specific shipment of goods, while enabling that data to be shared securely between merchants and relevant government agencies. This could dramatically reduce the need for repeated input of the same data, and help to combat import and export fraud.
Potential Effects on Ethereum
If Ethereum-based smart contracts were selected for this role, then there would be a tremendous increase in the demand for Ethereum blockchain products. Since Ethereum is currently the only blockchain that offers smart contracts, it would be a natural choice for such an undertaking. This would imply that in such a case, Ethereum’s price would most probably rise dramatically. In the eventuality that such events occur, Ethereum would be an excellent candidate for investment.