The state of crypto in Western Europe: Swiss powerhouse and French unicorn

Despite the turbulence that broke out in the crypto market this summer, there is an important long-term marker that should be considered in any complex assessment — the combination of adoption and regulation. The latest report by EUBlockchain Observatory, named “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments,” tries to measure this combination within the European Union, combining the data on each and every member country from Portugal to Slovakia. 

As the original report counts more than 200 pages, Cointelegraph prepared a summary with the intent to capture the most vital information about the state of crypto and blockchain in Europe. We started from a group of countries that are usually labeled as “Western European.” 

Key takeaways

Discussing the report takeaways with Cointelegraph, Nikolaos Kostopoulos, senior blockchain consultant at Netcompany-Intrasoft and member of the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum team, compared the European regulatory dialogue to the one that takes place in the United States, highlighting the role of France: 

“French regulators and policymakers are seemingly winning the course for a comprehensive, objective and holistic effort to establish the framework for a growing blockchain and digital assets industry. This effort is already validated by the decision of leading players such as Binance and Crypto.com which are heavily investing in their French HQ as their EU base, but also the fact that France is home to a few of the biggest EU blockchain startups.”

While France’s regulatory efforts stay in a larger EU context, Switzerland still leads the way in terms of attracting startups and creating the most welcoming legal environment for them. Kostopoulos believes that this unique position can’t simply be explained by the country’s century-old tradition as a safe haven for big money. 

“There are numerous reasons that constitute Switzerland more advanced and progressive in comparison to countries such as Belgium or France. The country has established procedures, progressive financial legislation, human resources and infrastructure to support a framework to accelerate financial innovation,” he said.