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.
Poland
Government rules crypto exchanges still legal: According to latest reports from Poland, the top financial authority in the country Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has announced that cryptocurrency exchanges are still legal.
The move comes after massive media coverage which stated that cryptocurrency trading is going to be banned by the government. The government itself is looking towards adding cryptocurrency regulation in the near future but is yet undecided on the matter.
Russia
Putin rejects possibility of Crypto Ruble: Russian President Vladimir Putin has shot down the possibility of issuing a Russian crypto Ruble according to latest reports.
The President was asked about the matter at the 15th annual Direct Line Speech in which Russian public asks the president questions. While he was supportive of the crypto community and blockchain, he was clear on the fact that Russia won’t be launching a cryptocurrency soon.
Farmers village using local crypto: Russian innovation in blockchain and cryptocurrency is to be noted as farmers in a small village have started their own cryptocurrency according to latest reports.
Mikhail Shlyapnikov, self-proclaimed ‘agro-anarchist’ gave the idea to start his own cryptocurrency the Kolion but was stopped by a court order in 2015. His initial coin offering was started in April 2017 and raised over BTC 401, more than USD 510,000 only at that time.
Kolion has a fixed supply of 1 million tokens and thus is protected from inflation.
Estonia
Wind-powered crypto mining farm started in Estonia: An Estonian government-owned cryptocurrency mining operation drawing energy from a wind farm has started operations off the coast of Estonia in the cold Baltic sea, thus highlighting the massive potential of the area for cryptocurrency mining.
The Salme Wind Farm, as it was named, will provide power worth 6 MWh for mining rigs in Estonia form mining cryptocurrency. While cryptocurrency mining has been an issue worldwide, renewable sources are generally more acceptable for mining purposes.
Switzerland
Bank open for crypto companies: Swiss Bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg has become the world’s first bank to provide business accounts to cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in the country.
While other banks like Falcon Private Bank based in Zurich have also offered crypto management services, this is the first instance of a bank offering corporate accounts to crypto startups, thus giving a further boost to the country’s crypto space.
European Union
Crypto no greater threat than conventional sources according to EU study: According to latest reports from an EU funded study, cryptocurrencies don’t pose a bigger threat in case of terror financing than traditional fiat currency options do.
The parliamentary think tank gave these findings after months of research related to terror financing in the continent. The report was commissioned by the EU parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs.
Netherlands
Blockchain-based land registry in Netherlands: The Dutch government’s decision to test a blockchain-based land registry system in the country is gaining attention as a testbed for revolution in real estate data management.
The government, according to Coindesk reports, is going to test the system in the near future with complete integration possible within the next 2-3 years.
Belgium
Belgium state website warns against possible crypto scams: Top Belgian markets and finance authority the Belgian Federal Public Service Economy and Financial Services & Market Authority has created a website called ‘Too Good to be True’ to warn investors about possible cryptocurrency scams.
The website gives sensible warnings on how hackers and scammers are using the popularity of cryptocurrencies to con people out of their life savings.
Germany
Banks offering ATMs capable of converting crypto to fiat: German financial watchdog German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has given the green light for banks to facilitate cryptocurrency ATMs. Now banks can set up Bitcoin ATMs that will allow people to convert Ether and Bitcoin to Euros, according to Trustnodes.
While banks are interested in this endeavor, no bank is currently giving this option to its customers.
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The post Europe: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 1st to 7th June 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.