According to a recent assessment conducted by Greenfield Capital, a European cryptocurrency investor, Lisbon, Berlin, and Paris are among the top ten crypto centers in the world.
When asked to pick three hubs, half of the poll participants listed Lisbon as one of the most crypto-friendly destinations. Early-stage crypto businesses are “looking at the world in terms of: what are the risks in my venture,” according to Jascha Samadi, co-founder, and partner at Greenfield, in an interview. He noted a “clear indication” that startups are increasingly selecting Europe, namely Lisbon.
As stateside regulators put pressure on both startups and their banking partners, there are serious doubts about the viability of the United States as a base for cryptocurrency businesses as a result of the results.
68 founders of cryptocurrency businesses with a European presence were polled earlier this year by the venture capital company on various themes. The most important thing to monitor for the industry this year, according to 70% of those surveyed, is regulation. According to the poll, entrepreneurs see the Markets in Crypto Asset’s legal framework and its transparency as benefits rather than a barrier. MPs formally approved this framework in April.
“MiCA’s not perfect,” Samadi added, but it has several advantages, such as “clarity and a clear framework” for centralized businesses. MiCA provides a glimpse into how regulators think, and that is how they comprehend and recognize DeFi, which they do not yet fully grasp.
European procedures are benefiting from the sector’s local confidence. Based on GitHub data, an index used in Greenfield’s study discovered that 42 protocols with a significant European presence had 1,300 monthly developers combined in the first quarter, over 300 higher than last year’s end. That represents the biggest quarterly growth since the tracking started in January 2020, and it does so despite a difficult year for cryptocurrency companies.
Since 2018, Greenfield has raised three funds. In November 2021, a $160 million fund that was it’s most recent to close. According to Samadi, the number of investments made in Europe in that most recent fund has “increased massively” compared to earlier funds, making up as much as 70% of its wagers.
