German Government to Introduce Blockchain Strategy in Mid-2019

The chief executive body of the German government, the Cabinet of Germany, has revealed that the country’s blockchain strategy will be introduced by mid-2019. The Cabinet commented on the development of fintech in the country on Feb. 26, following a request for information from parliamentarians in the Bundestag.

The document notes that fintech sandboxes are currently present in five member states of the European Union: Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom.

The Cabinet states that they will undergo an online consultation process prior to introducing the blockchain strategy. Per the Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy are preparing the strategy, with the expectation that other relevant ministries will contribute at a later time.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the German government is already consulting companies and industry groups that could become stakeholders in the country’s blockchain development. According to the report, unnamed organizations have been invited to make recommendations.

The report also cites unspecified government sources saying that it is unclear whether those recommendations will translate into regulation in the near future, but concrete results are currently being sought.

At the end of January, Germany’s second largest stock exchange, Boerse Stuttgart Group, officially launched its crypto-trading app Bison which enables free-of-charge trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP).

In January, major global securities marketplace Deutsche Boerse said it was “making significant progress” on its blockchain-based securities lending platform.