Europe
Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news continent by continent and country by country.
Switzerland
First Real Estate Deal on Blockchain Recorded in Switzerland: Switzerland completed its first ever blockchain-backed real estate transaction. Blockimmo Ltd collaborated with Swiss Crypto Tokens Ltd and Elea Labs Ltd to achieve this feat.
The said deal consisted of a restaurant and 18 apartments and is estimated to be worth CHF 3 million (USD 2.98 million). Ethereum (ETH) blockchain was used in order to tokenize the property. To account for the price fluctuations, the CryptoFranc (XCHF) was used, which is pegged to the Swiss franc.
Russia
Russian Railways Plans to Integrate Blockchain Technology Into Its System: Russia is planning to integrate blockchain technology into its railway system. The system will be used to determine exempts in the railway transport system, states Rambler News Service (RNS).
The Russian Railways and Russian National Pension Fund will sign a contract to provide travel discounts and bring transparency to the railway transport system monitoring.
Anton Drozdov, head of the Pension Fund, hoped that the deal will be finalized by the end of the on-going year. He believed that blockchain will help eliminate fraud and forgery in the use of discounted transport services.
Crypto Plans for Offshore Development Revealed by Russian Deputy Minister: Ships and digital assets will be affected by a new package of measures for the improvement of Russian offshore companies, stated Ilya Torosov, Russian deputy minister of economic development. Local news outlet TASS reported the news.
Last year, the Ministry of Economic Development developed the Special Administrative Regions (SAR) as part of its “Russian offshore companies” project. Now, it is planning to facilitate digital assets and other business in general by introducing tax exemptions.
France
Anonymous Digital Currencies Must Be Banned, Suggests Eric Woerth: A ban on anonymous cryptocurrencies (privacy coins) is suggested by Eric Woerth (head of the Finance Committee of France’s National Assembly). He stated his opinion in a recent report on blockchain technology and digital assets.
The virtual currencies which ensure “greater anonymity to users” must be banned, noted Woerth in a forward to the report. Along with that, he also discussed crypto-related problems such as money laundering, fraud, energy consumption, and tax evasion
Malta
Banks in Malta Hesitant to Entertain Crypto Businesses: Banks in Malta are not facilitating cryptocurrency businesses, reported Times of Malta. Various startups are facing problems with account opening in local banks. According to banks, blockchain sector is outside their risk appetite.
Time of Malta collected the said information from Malta-based blockchain related businesses in the pervious week. Banks are awaiting more lucidity from Malta’s Financial Service Authority (MFSA) regarding the status of cryptocurrencies, noted the report.
The United Kingdom
Majority of the UK Consumers Do Not Know About Cryptocurrencies: Majority of UK consumers (73%) are unable to define what a digital asset is or are ignorant about it, noted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Moreover, those having sufficient knowledge about cryptocurrencies are men (aged between 20-44). As per the survey, only 3% of polled (2,132) British consumers ever bought digital currency. Half of them spent less than GBP 200 (USD 263) from their disposable income. However, Bitcoin (BTC) stood out as the most well-known cryptocurrency followed by Ethereum (ETH).
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