The Ministry of Economic Development in Italy has tasked 30 proclaimed experts in the cryptocurrency space with the task of building the nation’s blockchain strategy from the ground up.
Among those tasked with the job are Angiolini Giorgio – head of marketing at the telecon firm Italtel and a member of UN INFO’s blockchain group; Pimpinella Martino Maurizio – president of the Italian Association of Paying Services Providers; Vitale Marco – president of the blockchain firm Quadrans Foundation, and Monaco Marco – head of the blockchain competence center at PWC Italy.
Italy and Blockchain Coming Together
A spokesperson for the organization announced:
“The group’s main goals will be to know, deepen and address the issues of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and blockchain, as well as increase public and private investments in this direction.”
In addition, members will also be required to build regulatory and technical tools to further enhance Italy’s blockchain operations.
Europe has been leading the battle for enhanced distributed ledger prowess. Switzerland – Italy’s neighbor to the north – is currently the home of what’s known as “Crypto Valley,” a series of varying cryptocurrency and blockchain-based startup ventures. Switzerland is known for its lenient and often friendly regulatory policies towards cryptocurrencies and their digital counterparts. Crypto Valley has taken part of its name from the renowned “Silicon Valley” in northern California, which houses several leading technology companies like social media giant Facebook.
To the south of Italy is Malta, a small island-nation looking to build itself up as the continent’s leading cryptocurrency and blockchain hub. Over the past 12 months, the country has established regulations for crypto-associated companies that are so attractive, many digital asset ventures from Asia have packed their bags and moved roughly 3,000 miles to make Malta the site of their headquarters. Among the companies to have done this are Binance, a leading overseas cryptocurrency exchange.
Europe Opening Its Doors to Crypto
Despite a growing list of cryptocurrency platforms, Asia is known for being relatively strict when it comes to digital asset and blockchain businesses. In South Korea, for example, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and similar funding ventures are banned, while countries like India have fully barred its banks and financial establishments from doing any kind of business with crypto enterprises, though this may change in the coming months.
A committee has already been formed to question the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies, while members have met on varying occasions to discuss potential regulatory solutions in lieu of a full-on ban of digital assets trading.
Are we likely to see more crypto-based activity occur in Europe? Post your comments below.
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