Switzerland and Estonia among Europe’s Most Advanced Blockchain Ecosystems
A paper by the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum says that, Estonia, Switzerland, Cyprus and Malta have the most advanced blockchain ecosystems in Europe. These countries could boost of having well-developed startup scenes and high friendly regulatory system.
The latest report from the European Commission (EC) blockchain think tank, places Switzerland at the hub of blockchain activity, not just Europe only but the entire world. Switzerland has 800 dedicated blockchain providers, with 8 unicorns, a vibrant venture capital (VC) ecosystem and supportive regulation.
The government of Switzerland clarified all legal situation of crypto-assets with specific guidance and initiatives that make blockchain development ecosystem friendly. The DLT (distributed ledger technology) bill will be passed this year, which will further cement the country as an epicenter of blockchain activities.
Another EU country that did a fantastic work on crypto-assets regulation is Estonia. This Baltic country has started issuing a “digital assets license” to custodian crypto-asset wallet providers and exchanges. The regulatory body allows companies to remotely set-up their business via its e-residency program. Estonia could boost of 143 blockchain startups that started with well over EUR 257 million in funding.
Another EU country worthy to be mentioned in this category is Malta, the self-proclaimed “blockchain island”. Malta offers “digital assets license” to virtual currency/digital assets companies and also have a comprehensive regulatory regime for cryptocurrency assets. Malta can count of 60 blockchain startups, raised with over EUR 51 million in funding.
Cyprus is another blockchain ecosystem friendly, regarded as one of the EU’s blockchain hotspot. The country started supporting and promoting blockchain technology since 2019 and it’s one of the EU countries, attracting investment capital in blockchain. The country is one of the few countries that offers full academic degree course on blockchain. Cyprus can count of 27 blockchain startups, with a total of EUR 142 million in funding.
A heterogeneous region
EU countries like Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Belgium, Greece, Croatia, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia are the least countries in blockchain development and maturity. In overall, they have few blockchain startups companies with Croatia being the least.
Meanwhile, EU countries including the Netherlands, Lithuania, United Kingdom and Slovenia having an expanding FinTech startup communities but need to improve in their regulatory policies and framework.
Germany, France and Luxembourg have few blockchain startups companies despite having regulatory ecosystems that are friendly.
We have about 30 EU countries that have adopted the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), with the aim to develop the technology across member states. This initiative is expected to support notarization services, education credentials management, European self-sovereign identity and data sharing among customs and tax authorities in the EU.
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