By Nilesh Maurya

Europe has been lagging in the adaptation of cryptocurrencies as it has been unregulated. The crypto environment among the countries in Europe has been hostile and no banks are currently touching cryptocurrencies because of the stringent European Banking Authority guidelines.

Even though things currently are tough for cryptocurrencies in the continent, some countries which are doing part of the European Union are doing there best to support the upcoming digital currencies.

Two European projects hold the key for future of cryptocurrencies

Even with the lag in on ground acceptance of cryptocurrencies, specific countries in Europe are doing their bit to put Europe in the driving seat in regards of mainstream acceptance of a token-based economy.

Germany’s Börse Stuttgart’s entry into crypto trading and Switzerland’s SIX’s crypto ecosystem are two important projects that could play a crucial role if framing the future for cryptocurrencies in Europe and across the world

Börse Stuttgart (SWB), the second largest stock exchange in Germany and the ninth largest in Europe, has been building a full-service crypto brokerage app, BISON and a full crypto exchange for both the major cryptocurrencies and securities tokens.

This exchange holds importance is because the exchange is doing it with hand in hand with the German Regulator. The app and exchange are expected to be ready soon and will work with banks as a regulated entity.

Many analysts on the street believe, with the regulator on their side, Börse Stuttgart would act as a trusted custodian for all cryptocurrency in the country and would pull massive investments from the retail and the institutional investors.

On the other hand, SIX Swiss exchange in Switzerland is also executing similar plans. The exchange and its parent have major Swiss banks as its shareholders. This would mean that once the exchange starts its crypto operation all major Swiss bank and the regulator would be a party to it and would pull in significant investments.

The Bitcoin ETF may be the holy grail right now for the cryptocurrency community, but if ones sit and analyze. A US ETF will give more investor access to crypto for sure, but these two projects will connect the whole financial infrastructure to the crypto world.  

 

Other crypto supportive steps by Europe

A lot of exchanges, companies, and even countries have come in support of cryptocurrencies. Recently the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) announced that it will be launching a cryptocurrency Exchange called Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) in order to woo the European Institutional Investors.

By providing an easeful and regulated crypto exchange, Gibraltar is planning to become a crypto exchange haven as well after being ICO favorable.

 

In July another Berlin-based bank in Germany, solarisBank announced that they will be offering a new banking platform for businesses in the European Union dealing in the Cryptocurrency Market.

The bank said that it has received necessary licenses and is launching a new platform which will allow the users of cryptocurrency to easily manage their business and operations.

In France as well, things seem pretty positive for cryptocurrencies. In July, The French Treasury acknowledged the risk related to ICO’s but argues that this situation justifies the need for a regulatory framework which can balance innovation and toxic investments. The country also showed the intent of becoming the ICO hub in the future.

With many major countries now favoring cryptos, the adoption of cryptos in real life would soon be a reality in Europe. With so much happening in the European Union with respect to cryptos, it looks like Europe definitely will change the world order once cryptocurrencies take over