The European Union is gradually turning into a Bitcoin-friendly place. In the past few days, there has been multiple positive news streaming out from the region. For starters, earlier today, the European Union Parliament decided not to implement bitcoin and blockchain regulations just yet as the technology is still in the development phase.
In a report submitted to the parliament, Jakob von Weizsaecker mentions that the digital currency and its underlying technology is not completely understood yet, and implementation of regulations at this stage may prevent further innovation from happening in the sector.
On the other hand, the European Central Bank has also announced that it will be looking into the potential uses of blockchain technology. Central banks have been interested in bitcoin and blockchain technology for some time now. Their main interest lies in the possibility of creating digital legal tender using blockchain technology. With none of the central banks taking a solid initiative, the idea still seems to be a bit farfetched at the moment.
In another interesting development, Her Majesty’s Treasury has announced that it will not be imposing AML and KYC regulation on digital currency wallet service providers. The Treasury department’s report states that the implementation of KYC and AML regulations beyond digital currency exchanges to include wallet services will not offer any additional benefits and it will only end up creating an unnecessary burden on the businesses.
Also, BitStamp, a European bitcoin exchange recently received a financial services license from Luxembourg, making it the first bitcoin exchange in the world to gain recognition as a registered financial service provider. BitStamp can now offer its services across the European Union with the license.
All these things are definitely a sign of the European Union becoming more bitcoin digital currency friendly, fostering innovation in the blockchain and fintech domains.