Europe
Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.
European Union
EU privacy laws shut down PICOPs amid radical changes adopted by other companies: The new stringent Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the EU is causing problems to many blockchain startups operating in the 28-member economic union with the Parity ICO Passport Services (PICOPS) startup shut down following its failure to comply with the new rules. GDPR’s right to delete data was cited as the breaking point for PICOPS as the conflict arose with blockchain’s immutability.
PICOPS in a statement said: “Because of this, the significant resources required to make PICOPS GDPR-compliant, and the fact that PICOPS is not part of our core technology stack, we have decided to discontinue the service despite overwhelming market needs and demand.”
Other blockchain companies are also rapidly making changes to their platform with LocalBitcoins’s latest changes in terms of services to come into effect after 25 May 2018.
Small business focus by EU blockchain committee: EU parliament members voted to recommend blockchain payment systems to small businesses throughout the continent, according to Coindesk.
While the committee fell short of recommending cryptocurrencies, it did suggest non-monetary uses including specifying data controls, and supply chain management, that will make small businesses operations cost-effective.
Eva Kaili, a committee member said: “Today the Industry Committee voted univocally in favor of a forward-looking technology that we expect to change the quality of our life, empower SMEs and improve business models in most industrial sectors… and we aspire to make EU the global leader in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
England
London mosque starts accepting ETH donations: A London mosque belonging to Turkish Cypriot Muslims have announced the acceptance of donations in ETH, according to London’s Hackney Gazette. The leaders made the decision to accept cryptocurrency for Zakat, a mandatory part of Muslim faith that requires 2.5% of followers’ wealth to be donated to charity.
The mosque is expecting more than EUR 10,000 in donations throughout the current Ramazan month.
Cryptoassets task force makes positive start: The UK government’s task force on cryptocurrencies met for the very first time on 21 May as part of the country’s efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies. The task force includes members from the national bank, financial watchdog Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and UK Treasury.
The task force’s overall initial attitude seems tolerant as the members acknowledged the use of cryptocurrencies and their utility while at the same time focusing on the issues they bring. UK is currently a sizeable force in the blockchain community.
Spain
Government opens legal doors for crypto investment: The Spanish National Securities Market Commission or Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) has recently announced that investment funds could now invest and trade in Bitcoin in the country. The move opens more Blockchain companies to move to Spain and the statement was within the Q&A document for fintech companies previously and the CNMV said:
“This type of funds would have a legal place in Law 22/2014, which regulates, in addition to venture capital entities, other collective investment entities of closed type and their management entities.”
Poland
Government suspends crypto tax collection following popular demand: The Polish government has softened its stance on cryptocurrencies by suspending tax collection on cryptocurrencies, according to Cointelegraph.
The Eastern European nation had just recently heavily taxed the cryptocurrency earnings in the country but following public outcry, the government was forced to make changes to the cryptocurrency regulation.
Switzerland
Switzerland ranked as most crypto-friendly European nation: Switzerland has once again come on top of the rankings in the most crypto-friendly countries in Europe, according to a recent study based on Europe. Gibraltar and Malta also ranked favorably.
A total of 48 European countries and territories were examined in the study for the regulations in place for ICOs, cryptocurrencies as payment services and crypto taxation approach. Switzerland came out on top in all countries. Gibraltar came in second followed by Malta.
Government mulling over e-Franc crypto: Swiss government is following up on its pro-blockchain status by considering the establishment of a cryptocurrency named e-franc, according to a report by the Reuters. A study has been requested by the government and the currency will just use blockchain technology for transparency and record-keeping.
Norway
Norway joins central bank queue on crypto: The Norwegian government is looking to launch its own state cryptocurrency, according to latest reports by CoinTelegraph. An official document has been released by the government and shows that the Norwegian government is keeping up with the current trends of central banks looking into state-backed national cryptocurrencies.
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