Following efforts that have been underway since July to lobby for greater bitcoin regulation in the US the Bitcoin Foundation eventually brought in Thorsen French Advocacy, a firm based out of Washington DC to help out and have now decided to head to Europe in order to build interest in the bitcoin over there too.
In order to improve understanding of the bitcoin digital currency amongst the European Union (EU) and its policymakers and politicians the Bitcoin Foundation have retained the services of Monica Monaco, an expert in regulatory processes which is a surprising change to the usual reliance of the foundation on its members’ advocacy methods in the EU.
With a long history of dealing with regulation and relations with the EU, Monica Monaco, who works from Brussels, also has an extensive background in both economics and law and in order to aid the foundation in its efforts to promote and protect the bitcoin through Europe will be using her knowledge of e-commerce, payment systems and various other financial areas of expertise.
The vast amount of knowledge regarding financial clearing networks and Visa as well as a variety of contacts Jon Matonis, the executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation believes that Monaco will be a highly valuable asset to the foundation.
Monaco will also be providing local affiliate chapters with coordination on a strategic level according to Matonis. An EU regulatory affairs committee similar to one created in the US is also being planned by the Bitcoin Foundation.
A greater understanding of the benefits and protocols relating to the bitcoin along with an increased recognition and awareness of the bitcoin community as a whole is one of the main goals of the Bitcoin Foundation and it hopes to do this with its TRUST EU Affairs collaboration.
The preparation for new changes to policy and laws that will allow a greater integration of bitcoin into mainstream systems that provide financial services as well as trying to move people away from treating bitcoin in a negative way is a key goal for the foundation.
This latest move by the Bitcoin Foundation has come at just the right time, with it sharing the potential and the various achievements made so far by the bitcoin with it gaining inclusion financially with both public officials and policymakers as well as providing these same policymakers with the necessary education about bitcoin, according to the Bitcoin Foundations’ Global Policy Counsel, Jim Harper.
The foundations efforts to bring it existing policy and education to the international market was its general strategy as was taking on Monaco said Matonis adding that the foundation had to be as global as the bitcoin itself.
Matonis went on to say that the foundation would be looking at other important parts of the world on each areas individual merits once it had been successful in the UK and the Eurozone although it is increasingly likely that following this latest move a number of areas will be able to promote the bitcoin with the help of a representative from the Bitcoin Foundation.