Dima Zaitsev, Head of International PR at ICOBox, comments on the news from Europe.
French lawmakers are contemplating earmarking half a billion euros to deploy a country-wide blockchain, according to the French news outlet Les Echos.
According to the report, two members of parliament are promoting the blockchain and cryptocurrency agenda with the intent to make France a "Blockchain Nation." They are also pushing for expansion of Bitcoin mining in the country. The initiative is envisioned as a three-year plan that will facilitate mass adoption of the powerful financial technology.
Historically, France's approach to cryptocurrency seems to be a bit of a hit-and-miss. A recent plan to allow tobacco kiosks to sell Bitcoin (BTC) failed to obtain the approval of the French central bank, although it doesn't appear to have been completely scrapped. Many lawmakers have urged the adoption of sensible standards to regulate the industry and cautioned against heavy-handed approaches.
Equally encouraging news are coming from Germany, where it was just announced that fintech company SolarisBank and the second-largest German stock exchange Stuttgart Exchange are working on opening a zero-fee cryptocurrency exchange in the first half of 2019
"The naysayers may wish crypto dead, but as we can see, major market players do not share their sentiment," says Dima Zaitsev, Head of International PR at ICOBox. "Just look at these two seemingly unconnected facts: the French regulators are willing to put their money where their mouths are in their support of blockchain, and Stuttgart Exchange, which would've not been here since the 1860 had it not been utterly serious and cautious, getting ready to enter the game – and you will see that crypto is here to stay. Big wigs just wouldn't bother with something trivial and unworthy of their attention. And with both of these plans in the works, looks like mass crypto adoption is right around the corner."