How will the “Mediterranean Seven” affect the status of cryptocurrencies in EU?
The latest blockchain-friendly news to have come from Europe is the establishment of the “Mediterranean seven”, a group formed by Malta, France and five other European countries to focus on the promotion of blockchain technology. According to an article on CCN, this could have a positive impact on Europe’s cryptocurrency sector as well.
The impact of Mediterranean seven on crypto in Europe
The Mediterranean seven comprises of seven countries that include France, Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain. These countries will work together to explore the use cases of blockchain in education, transport, mobility, shipping, Land Registry, customers, company registry, and healthcare, and implement them. According to FT, the move will not only result in “the enhancement of e-government services but also increased transparency and reduced administrative burdens, better customs collection and better access to public information”.
CCN is of the view that the group will also impact the cryptocurrency sector positively. Malta is a participant in the group and the country has a reputation for being crypto-friendly, being home to some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Malta, with its flexible and favourable regulations for cryptocurrency businesses, has been attracting blockchain and crypto businesses from around the world for almost a year now.
The inclusion of Malta in the group signifies that the other six countries approve of Malta’s approach to developing its local cryptocurrency market. It is plausible that they will also explore and adopt Malta’s stance on cryptocurrencies.
France is another participant country which has an open mind with regards to cryptocurrencies. The country approved an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), thus, establishing its crypto-friendly position.
CCN’s report also highlighted that open blockchain protocols could not operate without incentive systems, which are cryptocurrencies. Decentralized blockchains would lose their essence if they functioned without their native digital assets, and therefore, the countries exploring blockchain will also have to look at cryptocurrencies.
Maintaining its reasoned optimism, the article also said that native digital assets could also come around naturally as these countries went about integrating blockchain technology across various sectors. In the process, the Mediterranean seven could also work on a more practical regulatory framework for these digital assets.
It is to be noted that Europe has been taking rapid strides to embrace blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. According to a report published by Fabric Ventures, Europe has outperformed US and crypto-friendly Asian countries in conducting successful ICOs. Europe’s existing efforts and achievements speak of a bright future for crypto in the continent.
Bittoria is a cryptocurrency exchange which will enable cryptocurrency enthusiasts to trade in BTC, ETH, XRP and LTC with USD, EUR, GBP and CHF. The exchange will also roll out support for crypto-to-crypto transactions on the same platform soon in European jurisdictions initially and then expand to other parts of the world. Stay tuned for updates!
