The Far West spirit and the deep fear of inflation have made Berlin a place of convergence for crypto-currencies and blockchain technology. By
The alternative neighborhoods of Berlin are not foreign to avant-garde movements. revolution. In the German capital, a handful of stores have been accepting Bitcoin for a long time and a growing community of start-ups and crypto-related investors are looking for ways to make virtual currencies more accessible to consumers.
" Berlin is the crypto capital of Europe, " says Fabian Vogelsteller, developer at the Ethereum Foundation. He is working on the future of the currency in Berlin, and his colleague Gavin Wood told The Wall Street Journal that much of his development has been developed here.
The city quickly became a hub of Bitcoin thanks to precursors living in the once-alternative Kreuzberg district. The history of Berlin's squats, coupled with German mistrust of government-backed currencies (since the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic), has allowed for the development of a local crypto ecosystem.
Mr. Vogelsteller was surprised by the soaring prices of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies this year, but is more interested in developing the technology they use, the blockchain.
The computing power needed to run Bitcoin becomes a problem: The Guardian newspaper said in November that the currency consumes as much electricity each year as Ireland.
Berlin company thinks it has found a more effective blockchain solution (IOTA)
Iota was founded by Dominick Schiener, a 21-year-old Austrian, and his Norwegian partner, David Sønstebø. The duo has designed IOTA to become the currency of references for the Internet of Things.
If we want to realize the full potential of the Internet of Things, machines must pay for each other . Dominick Schiener
IOTA is based on the idea of a distributed book of blockchain but without mining. He has already found supporters in the German car industry. " If cars have to pay for recharging or parking alone, then you need a safe method , " says Johann Jungwirth, Volkswagen Digital Director, who thinks Iota is "very interesting".
The digital currency boom also brings venture capital to Berlin
Miriam Neubauer is Managing Director of Catena Capital, a cryptocurrency fund. His first two equity investments have recently moved into a new joint office and coworking space, Cryptotank.
The Cryptonator digital wallet " is a network of traders, " says Neubauer. Traders then pay a fee to access technical information on more than 1,300 crypto-currencies, just like a traditional investment bank. The other company she supported, Herdius, is working on a cross-channel virtual currency exchange.
Lisk and Bitwala, two other references of the Berlin place
Despite the current hype about crypto-currencies, it's hard to buy currencies or use blockchain technology, especially for novices. " Not all software and cryptocurrency portfolios are very user-friendly," says Max Kordek, whose startup at Lisk aims to make the blockchain more accessible for other potential uses.
He of course financed the company by selling his own currency, the Lisk. Mr. Kordek raised 14,000 bitcoins at his ICO two years ago. At the time, they were worth nearly 6M €: they are now valued at 200M €! Although his start is still in its infancy, Kordek hopes to double his squad to 60 this year.
Another Berlin start-up, Bitwala, is working to make Bitcoin more accessible to consumers by providing basic banking services that convert digital currency into euros and dollars for a fee. Despite its current success, the Visa payment company told the Bitwala card provider to cancel its customer debit cards last week. In a statement, Bitwala said he was working on finding a new supplier.
Although the German financial regulator (BaFin) has not yet opposed crypto-currencies, he warned people against participating in ICOs. Many experts have stated that BaFin could become more involved in the coming months. Opportunity ? Menance? For us, this is a sign that the industry, with the help of Berlin, is growing!