A blockchain-based energy trading platform backed by German tech giant Siemens is being publicly demonstrated in a Bavarian municipality today. The so-called “Pebbles” project — short for “peer-to-peer energy trading based on blockchains” — is holding a virtual demo of its blockchain-based marketplace platform for optimized electricity trading. The demo was officially announced by the project on Oct. 22. The public demonstration of Pebbles’ energy platform in the town of Wildpoldsried in Bavarian marks a major milestone after the project was launched in March 2018. Funded by German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Pebbles is a joint initiative …

Burkhard Balz, a German politician and executive board member of the country's central bank, said in a speech on Oct. 20 that it was crucial to build tools to restrict how the digital euro is used upon launch. Balz emphasized that people should only be able to use the central bank-backed digital euro as a mode of payment and not as a store of value. If the central bank digital currency has the same characteristics as traditional money, depositors could withdraw their funds in times of a crisis by converting it into digital euros, making the funds a liability for …

A legendary bar and restaurant in Germany that was reportedly the first to ever accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment has permanently closed. According to an Oct. 18 Reddit post from Joerg Platzer, founder of Room 77, the first brick-and-mortar business to accept Bitcoin (BTC) is no longer accepting customers and has shuttered its doors. In a goodbye message riddled with references to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Platzer said “thanks again for all the fish and the generous tips” after more than 15 years in business occupying “that little joint in Berlin Kreuzberg.” “We had …

Distributed energy resources, or DERs, have the potential to disrupt traditional electricity markets. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that innovative countries are looking toward emerging technologies that will allow DERs to transform entire energy economies. Germany in particular is interested in using DERs to drive its digital energy economy while also complying with the European Green Deal. As such, the Deutsche Energie-Agentur, also known as DENA — the main governmental group responsible for energy innovation in Germany — announced plans to trial a blockchain-based solution to construct a digital registry for DERs. Sara Mamel, senior export in digitalization …

The Deutsche Energie-Agentur, also known as DENA — the main governmental group responsible for energy innovation in Germany — is looking to move its energy ecosystem to a decentralized database. “When infrastructure can’t go down - when the lights need to stay on - the systems you use need to be resilient, and decentralized technologies deliver that,” Parity Technologies head of public affairs, Peter Mauric, told Cointelegraph. Parity Technologies stands as one of the companies involved in DENA’s project. Mauric added: “The concept of microgrids — smaller, decentralized energy grids to improve resiliency energy generation, storage and distribution — have …

This July, Luxembourg — the world’s second-largest domicile for investment funds behind the United States — submitted a draft law updating a law from March 1, 2019 that allowed for the registration and transfer of securities by custodians. With this draft law, issuance itself can be based on distributed ledger technology, thereby introducing truly dematerialized DLT or blockchain-based securities. Furthermore, a central “issuance account” keeper (transfer agent) is required to assume responsibility, and the account keeper has to be authorized by any member state of the European Economic Area, which means that non-Luxembourg credit institutions and investment firms can be …

In an effort to increase the country's legal overwatch, Germany now says Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs require regulatory approval before they are allowed to operate. ATMs that offer assets such as Litecoin and Bitcoin now requires a license from Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, a Sept. 8 statement from the entity said. "Proprietary trading is a financial service and financial commission business is a banking business, for which prior approval from BaFin is required." This does not appear so much as a new ruling as it does a clarification of current legal requirements. "Those who set up such crypto machines that do …

The Vienna Stock Exchange, or Wiener Börse, has become just the third “official regulated market” worldwide to list a Bitcoin (BTC) product. The exchange listed 21 Shares AG’s Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded products (ETPs), ‘ABTC’ and ‘AETH’, on September 1. Exciting news today, our #Bitcoin and #Ethereum ETPs — ABTC and AETH are the first crypto-centric ETPs admitted on @wiener_boerse, the Vienna Stock Exchange, one of the most established exchanges in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe! https://t.co/jX3UOnsytA — 21Shares (@21Shares_) September 1, 2020 Thomas Rainer, Wiener Börse’s head of development, emphasized that the listing allows “experienced, local investors” to …

Federal regulators in Germany are looking to modernize the country’s securities with blockchain technology. On Aug. 11, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) introduced a draft bill on blockchain-based digital securities. In the official statement, the authorities outlined that the adoption of digital securities is one of the core aspects of the federal government's blockchain strategy. According to current legislation in Germany, financial instruments that are classified as securities must be secured in a document. Blockchain technology would thus help guarantee liquidity and compliance by providing a replacement for the …

After a lengthy joint investigation with the American FBI, German police have seized over 25 millions euros worth of cryptocurrency associated with the illegal movie streaming site movie2k.to. Shuttered in spring 2013 due to copyright infringement concerns, the site’s two main operators are accused of having distributed over 880,000 pirated copies of films, together with their accomplices, via the site between fall 2018 and spring 2013. They have been charged with operating an illegal streaming service, which enabled users to watch pirated films without downloading them. One of the two, who worked as the site’s programmer, has been in police …

The alleged dealers involved in “Chemical Revolution” — Germany’s largest darknet narcotics marketplace — will stand trial today. The high number of initial defendants in the case has meant the trial is being held in a congress hall in Giessen, central Germany, large enough to accommodate the proceedings. While seven defendants are standing trial today, a total of 11 persons were arrested back in June 2019 in connection with the case. They were charged with selling vast quantities of drugs — including MDMA, amphetamine, heroin, cocaine and cannabis — to consumers in exchange for Bitcoin (BTC). State prosecutors in Frankfurt …

Controversial German payments processor Wirecard — the issuer of several crypto debit cards — has been implicated in a new report on alleged criminal activities by a Mastercard executive operating at the troubled FBME bank in Cyprus. In 2014, the United States’ Financial Crime Enforcement Network had banned U.S. financial institutions from dealing with FBME after the bank was accused of being used to “facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, transnational organized crime, fraud, sanctions evasion and other illicit activity.” The allegations included facilitiating the processing of money tied to the Syrian chemical weapons’ program and internet child sex abuse, according …