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.
France
Cryptocurrencies have the same status as pets, cars and other movable property: The French State Council has recently designated cryptocurrencies as movable properties, bringing them at par with movable properties like cars, jewelry, furniture and gold. This step has reduced the taxation on cryptocurrencies from 45% to 19%, thus making it easier for new coin companies and exchanges to shift to the country.
But mining even now is considered as an enterprise and liable for 45% tax. The move is understandably taken to discourage resource-extensive mining operations. The overall move is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s move to bring innovative industries back to France.
Germany
Ripple in talks with banks in Germany: Popular cryptocurrency XRP’s parent company Ripple is in talks with representatives of a few big banks in Germany to talk about possible adoption. Ripple has already made inroads with other technologies like xRapid and xCurrent that have been adopted by hundreds of banks around the world.
Marjan Delatinne, the head of banking in Ripple said that the company was in talks with many German banks in Berlin and elsewhere. Delatinne herself switched from SWIFT banking to the blockchain driven company back in 2017.
XRP continues to be one of the top cryptocurrencies in the world despite a substantial decrease in price in the last four months.
United Kingdom
30% UK firms hit by cryptojacking malware: Over 30% of UK businesses were hit by a cryptocurrency mining malware last month. Over 60% of the companies also said that they found malware in their computers at some time in the past, mostly in the last six months alone.
Most of the malware found is designed to channel the computing power of an affected computer for cryptocurrency mining initiatives which is illegal. Kaspersky Labs, a prominent antivirus company said that new malware has been reported in other countries as well that can control workstations and servers for cryptojacking purposes.
Hungary
Government working on crypto regulatory framework: The Hungarian government is working on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country to encourage cryptocurrency adoption and blockchain research.
The country doesn’t recognize cryptocurrencies but increasing public interest and regional outlook are forcing the government to look into cryptocurrencies. A Hungarian ministry spokesperson said:
“Hungary is currently looking into regulating crypto instruments, and the central bank, the tax authority, the finance ministry and other authorities have set up a joint workgroup to evaluate legal, economic, law enforcement, money laundering and other aspects of cryptocurrencies with an eye to introducing more detailed regulation.”
Spain
Political coalition calling for regulatory body to explore crypto: Spanish coalition party Unidos Podemos is calling for the implementation of blockchain and crypto regulation in the country.
The coalition was formed from various left-wing parties including Podemos, United Left, Equo and smaller parties. It underlined the importance of blockchain in the future and its widespread application in public administration in the country as well as means to complement industrial potential.
Malta
ICOs make gains in Malta in 2018: Malta, one of the top crypto havens in Europe, is seeing big gains in ICO businesses according to latest research from Crypto Fund Research.
Malta raised almost USD 180 million in ICO funds in the last quarter, which clearly shows that it is leading the way along with Switzerland and Gibraltar. Continent-wise, Europe is second overall with USD 1.12 billion behind North America’s USD 4.98 billion.
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The post Europe: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 10th to 16th August 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.