Ripple And NEM Team Up To Launch EU Blockchain Association In Effort To Get On The Good Side Of Regulators

Ripple (XRP) and NEM (XEM) have united to launch a project called Blockchain for Europe. This new association will represent the interests of companies acting in the sector of blockchain and cryptocurrency on the whole European Union. The story was originally reported by the Next Web’s Hard Fork.

Blockchain for Europe claims to be the first “unified voice” for the industry in the continent and wants to foster the technology in the region while unlocking its full potential at the same time.

One of the main parts of the Blockchain for Europe agenda is to make sure that the European Union and all the states that are a part of the union are focusing on doing the best to develop the blockchain technology by drafting a positive regulation that will stimulate the growth of the sector.

The Head of Regulatory Relations of Ripple, Dan Morgan, has affirmed that the company is simply delighted to be a founding member of such an important initiative. He has also affirmed that this is a critical time for countries to develop the right framework and get the benefits while other countries are not in front of them in doing so.

The co-founder of NEM, Kristof Van de Reck, complained that there is a lack of unbiased information when it comes to decentralization and the blockchain technology. Therefore, they want to offer insights that are “not tailored to the agenda of specific organizations of stakeholders”, which is a phrase that generally means that he wants to convince people that his agenda is the right one.

Despite the fact that NEM and Ripple are most likely looking out for themselves, the association will be obviously good for all companies related to crypto. Boosting the image of the industry would benefit all, so most companies will let Ripple and NEM have their way.

European regulators are prone to consult the organization when developing laws and, if the effort is actually successful, it might mean that Europe will become a lot more pro-crypto than it already is, which can mean that the industry will grow there.

While there is sincerity in these companies saying that they want to push the blockchain technology forward not only for their well being but also for everyone, it should be noted that the blockchain is still in its infancy, an opinion that the original report from The Next Web’s Hard Fork also has.

The original story seemed worried that the technology might still be riddled with problems and that it has to get better in order to get more powerful and famous, so the companies have to be careful not to overdo their marketing.

Luckily, Europe is slowly but surely getting into the blockchain train. The European Commission has set up a forum and observatory for the blockchain technology, for instance, so it can decide how to regulate it. There is a genuine effort being made to regulate the practices and the technology well.

Unfortunately, the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which was created for Europe this year, may clash with some permissionless ledgers like Bitcoin, so the future is still very uncertain.

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