Italian Government to Provide €45m in Grants for Blockchain Industry

Italy's Ministry of Economic Development is planning to provide up to $46 million in subsidies for developing projects across artificial intelligence, blockchain and Internet of Things technologies, starting in mid-to-late September.

The new policy is expected to strengthen research and innovation capabilities for industries. Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti said "the challenge of competitiveness requires constant innovation."

The current initial budget is 45 million euros ($46 million). Italian government said that both companies and public or private research centers can jointly apply for relevant subsidies as long as relevant conditions are met.

According to the decree, companies involved in industry and manufacturing, education, agriculture, health, environment and infrastructure, cultural tourism, logistics, information security, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence or blockchain in aerospace are eligible to apply for the subsidy.

They will receive relevant grants of not less than 500,000 euros and not more than 2 million euros.

The European Central Bank issued a warning to national authorities in the euro area about individuals dealing with the crypto ecosystem. A trilogy of European Commission, Parliament, and Council has agreed on a comprehensive cryptocurrency framework, the Market for Crypto Assets (MiCA),

Italy, as a member of the EU, will also establish a unified EU-wide regime for crypto-asset issuers and service providers, providing investors with security and support sustainability, reducing fragmentation and Increasing legal transparency.

Britain's apex bank, the Bank of England, through the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), is looking to raise as much as 321 million pounds ($419 million) from the commercial institutions it is regulating as it is planning to shore up its regulatory efforts in the digital currency ecosystem.

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