May 4, 2024, 11:48 am | Read time: 5 minutes

Crypto projects are typically associated with locations like the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, or Dubai. However, the so-called DACH region, which includes Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, also has a growing blockchain industry. With ideal conditions, Switzerland is leading the way. But there’s also much to discover in Austria and Germany. TECHBOOK provides an overview.

German Crypto Projects – Coins

IOTA on New Paths

German crypto projects also include their own cryptocurrencies. The most well-known is undoubtedly IOTA. It launched in 2017 and surprised with its innovative Tangle technology. This is neither Proof of Work (PoW) nor Proof of Stake (PoS), but an alternative consensus mechanism. It is based on a data structure that resembles a network more than a chain. This idea is particularly aimed at the so-called Internet of Things (IoT). Simply put, interconnected machines pay each other for their services using a digital currency.

For a long time, the IOTA Foundation, based in Berlin, seemed to lurch from crisis to crisis. However, even if the current prices don’t reflect it, there have been recent developments that are promising and surprising. IOTA has signed a $100 million cooperation agreement with the ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market). This positions the foundation as a pioneer in an international alliance of foundations and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). Additionally, IOTA is entering the trendy business of RWAs (Real World Assets) through its own accelerator program in Singapore. This involves the tokenization of goods and values in the real economy.

LISK Now on Optimism

Another long-standing German cryptocurrency is LISK, which launched in 2016. Recently, there was a significant technological shift. LISK is migrating, like other projects, to a Layer-2 blockchain: in this case, Optimism. Layer-2 chains build on the infrastructure of a base blockchain, here it’s Ethereum. This makes LISK part of the Ethereum network and opens up new possibilities in the next bull run–even if it means giving up some technological independence.

LISK, like IOTA, is associated with a foundation, the Onchain Foundation. This offers the advantage of long-term stable development, ensured through grants for developer teams, for example.

KYVE – Data, Data, and No End

KYVE was also founded in Germany, although it is now connected to a Swiss foundation. Since 2023, the cryptocurrency’s mainnet has been live, occupying an interesting niche: data that is trustless, meaning transparent yet secure, permanently stored, and tradable via blockchain.

Although still relatively new to the market, its list of partners reads like a who’s who of the newcomer crypto scene: Rollchains, Arbitrum, Cronos, ZetaChain, Celestia, Noble, Axelar, and so on. There seems to be great potential in the applied technology.

Crypto Brokers

German crypto projects include not only cryptocurrencies but also other elements of a functioning infrastructure, such as crypto trading platforms. The DACH region offers players like the Stuttgart Stock Exchange’s Bison and the Austrian broker Bitpanda, both equipped with a BaFin license. This extra feature provides partners and customers with a level of security that can be a competitive advantage in the crypto exchange market.

Read also: The Pros and Cons of the Cryptocurrency Solana

Connections to TradFi

To appeal to the full range of potential investors, more options are needed beyond traditional crypto brokers. One is the connection to the TradFi sector, or traditional finance.

In the DACH region, Tradias and Bitbond are active, offering trading in tokenized traditional assets like real estate, or Deutsche Digital Assets, which enables the trading of cryptocurrencies on exchanges through ETPs (Exchange Traded Products). For those who want to invest but have no experience with cryptos, such instruments are useful as an entry point. Thus, these players also play an important role in the German-speaking blockchain industry.

DeFi

Another way to cover the full range of demand is the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) sector. Here, very experienced crypto users are engaged, for whom simply buying and holding or trading is too limited. These users know that cryptocurrencies hold innovations that only unfold in decentralized finance protocols.

An example is the Swiss-German crypto project USDFI. Simply put, they are building a decentralized crypto bank, whose infrastructure aims to encompass as many different blockchains as possible. All possibilities of decentralized banking, such as yield farming, lending, and so on, are part of the concept. The benefit of such a project for the average user is that the otherwise highly complex access to decentralized crypto protocols is simplified. Trust in the operators and technology is necessary to make such projects a sustainable and long-term factor in the German-speaking crypto landscape.

More on the topic

Types and Applications of RWAs Real World Assets: The New Trend in Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase, Bitpanda … Trading Bitcoin and More – An Overview of the Best Crypto Exchanges

Auditors

The most important role in terms of trust is played by so-called auditors. These are companies that verify the technical reliability of blockchain protocols through audits. This includes, for example, resilience against professional hackers. Solidproof is a German auditor that can issue the necessary certifications.

All About the Blockchain

Crypto-friendly traditional banks like Commerzbank, so-called neo-banks like N26, or crypto bank concepts like Bitwala, which is making a second attempt to enter the market–all are additional necessary components for an internationally competitive blockchain industry.

This also includes crypto wallet providers, crypto tax software, tax advisors specializing in crypto, and so on. The German-speaking region offers all of this. Ultimately, political will is also required. It remains to be seen whether the necessary framework conditions will be created at the EU level and nationally in the coming years to allow this new, innovative technology to play a global role.

All hints and information mentioned in the text do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell securities (§ 85 WpHG).