German startups form blockchain advocacy group ahead of federal elections

Newswire: June 30, 2017.

Dateline: Berlin

A group of startup companies in Germany have formed a public advocacy organization for blockchain technology, with the goal of creating uniform standards for blockchain application development, particularly as it applies to the public sector.

The Blockchain Bundesverband comprises Jolocom, Slock.it, IOTA and other Germany-based companies. It also includes members from Germany’s two leading political parties, the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party.

Federal elections are scheduled for September, and the Blockchain Bundesverband is looking to the formation of a new government to establish “innovation friendly legal certainty in the field of civil law, taxation and regulation.”

The group’s leadership argues that Germany should take a global leadership role in advancing blockchain’s use and its standardization.

“”The potential of blockchain technology can only develop when citizens, as well as private and public institutions, connect with the technology and the technology itself is recognized by law and society,” they said.

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(Front page image via Wikipedia.)