What the numbers say: A recent research from the crypto data website CoinGecko has revealed the top 10 countries in Europe by interest in crypto, analyzing 40 countries in the region based on their shares of crypto-related web page views from Jan. 1 to July 9, 2023. The study results have shown that the U.K. is leading Europe in crypto interest by a long way, with a 44.58% rate. In the top five, the U.K. was followed by the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and Russia, respectively. Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Not Financial Advice (NFAI) have become the most popular cryptocurrencies in the U.K. so far this year. Relevance: The massive crypto interest in the U.K. was followed by the country's efforts to embrace the crypto regulations. Most recently, the U.K. passed the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB), recognizing crypto as a regulated activity and bringing cryptocurrencies and stablecoins under the same rules applied to traditional financial assets. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also shown efforts to make the country a global crypto hub since his finance ministry. In June, the European Union (EU), where seven of the 27 member states made the list, officially signed its region-wide crypto regulations, the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), into law, after three years of development. The move made the bloc the first major jurisdiction to regulate the crypto industry on such a scale. Brands that should care: The accelerated regulatory efforts forced many crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini, and stablecoin issuers, such as Circle and Tether, to comply with upcoming rules and register with the regulators in the European countries before the related provisions of the regulations come into force. |
