Italy dedicates $ 46 million to blockchain research
Italy’s new decree set aside more than $ 46 million for companies wishing to set up subsidiaries to research blockchain. Companies will be able to apply for this budget from 21 September 2022, either individually or jointly.
Italy’s Minister for Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, explained that this initiative aims to support companies’ investments in innovative technologies to modernize production systems. He added:
“The challenge of competitiveness – he adds – requires the manufacturing industry to constantly innovate and capture the potential of new technologies.”
Initiatives that examine artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) will also be acceptable.
Any blockchain, AI and IoT application on production systems, education, agriculture, environment, infrastructure, tourism, information security and aerospace can be considered for funding.
Italy on crypto
Although not the most embracing nation, Italians have relatively high crypto-adoption rates.
Based on figures from 2021, Italy has ranked as the 10th country with the highest crypto adoption among 27 countries surveyed. Bitcoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum emerged as the most popular currencies in the country. A report from Chainalysis, on the other hand, ranked Italy as the seventh in crypto-adoption, close behind Germany and the United Kingdom
In terms of regulation, cryptocurrencies fall under the responsibility of the country’s market watchdog Consob. In June 2021, Consob said that more than 4,000 cryptocurrencies were in circulation and that the government had to implement measures to reduce risk. Since then, there have been no announcements about crypto legislation.
However, the county required all virtual asset providers to comply with the AML rules in early 2022 and went so far as to block Binance from Italy. Another indicator of Italy’s crypto adoption came from Binance, which did not give up on the Italian market and re-entered the country with a new registration.
In January 2022, Italy’s largest private bank Banca Generali announced that it would allow its private customers to buy and hold Bitcoin until the end of 2022. The bank started the technical integrations. However, the launch has not yet been announced.
Colombia and Korea
Colombia and Korea emerge as two countries that recently invested in blockchain as a nation.
Like Italy, South Korea announced a budget to exploit the potential of the metaverse industry. The $ 117.1 million budget will be used to develop a metaverse where Korea can educate its citizens, host globally prominent brains, collaborate and create new jobs. The country has already started the first step in its metaverse plan and aims to become the largest metaverse market by 2026.
Colombia, on the other hand, announced quite recently that they were incorporating a blockchain-based solution into their national systems. The new project is used in Colombia’s National Land Agency and can register more than 100,000 contracts.
