Blockchain to drive Berlin startup scene

Berlin’s status as one of Europe’s leading FinTech hubs looks set to be further propelled by the city’s heightened focus on blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

The German capital has seen a wave of crypto-focused co-working spaces and accelerators spring up in recent times, such as Catena Capital, a blockchain accelerator and initial coin offering (ICO) fund, and Full Node, which aims to be Europe’s largest blockchain co-working area.

“The origins of Bitcoin from within the Cypherpunk movement and the high degree of alternative lifestyle in Berlin go well together,” says Peter Grosskopf, Chief Technology Officer at FinTech venture, solarisBank. “Blockchain will be one of the drivers of the Berlin startup scene in the future.”

Recent projects include a “crypto-first” banking service complete with accounts, international bank account numbers and SWIFT codes from German blockchain-based payment service provider Bitwala. Lisk, meanwhile, is developing a decentralised app and sidechain development platform, which aims to give developers a bigger slice of revenues than they would receive through centralised platforms like Apple’s App Store.

Other notable startups in Germany include Gnosis, a prediction market platform; community-owned fundraising platform Neufund; and BigchainDB, a blockchain database.

Challenges

Grosskopf, who hopes solarisBank will earn its spot as a “crypto-friendly bank”, says the biggest challenge facing the sector is regulation, especially from a European level.

“Crypto regulation is still very different in the various European markets,” he comments. “We absolutely agree that clear regulation protecting the customer is important for this industry. Nevertheless, blockchain is a global movement, which emphasises the need to have harmonised regulation on a European level as soon as possible.”

Another challenge, says Grosskopf, is unmet demand for more tech and engineering talent. “Also, I’m curious to see the impact of more institutional capital flowing into the ecosystem in the future,” he adds.