The Italian government will provide $ 46 million in subsidies for blockchain projects

by · July 5, 2022

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development has announced that certain blockchain projects will qualify to apply for up to $ 46 million in government subsidies from September.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the ministry said that companies and public or private research firms will be able to apply for funding from the government for the development of projects related to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and blockchain technology. The fund will have an initial budget of 45 million euros – about 46 million dollars at the time of publication – for expenses and costs from 500 thousand to 2 million euros as part of the Italian government’s goals for investment in technology, research and innovation.

“We support companies’ investments in cutting-edge technologies with a view to encouraging the modernization of production systems through increasingly interconnected, efficient, secure and rapid governance models,” said Economic Development Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. “The goal of competitiveness requires that the manufacturing industry constantly innovate and use the potential of new technologies.”

The Government Directive was made possible by a decision in December 2021 laying down criteria for the use of the fund and a subsequent one in June 2022 where the Ministry laid down terms and conditions for submitting applications. According to the decree, companies of any size will be eligible to apply for subsidies provided that the funds will be used for IoT, AI or blockchain in sectors including industry and manufacturing, tourism, health, environment and aerospace.

Related: ‘Bitcoin-themed’ ETF lists on the Italian stock exchange Borsa Italiana

A member of the European Union, Italy is likely to be affected by recent regulations adopted by the European Parliament which aim to bring crypto issuers and service providers within their jurisdictional control under a single set of rules. The country’s securities regulator, the Italian Commission for Companies and Stock Exchanges, or CONSOB, has previously warned residents about the possible risk of crypto investments, while Organismo Agenti e Mediatori is largely responsible for granting regulatory approval to crypto service providers – in May the regulator gave the green light to the large crypto exchange Binance to open a branch in Italy.