Business, / By STA

Ljubljana - The Slovenian cryptocurrency community has urged the state to adopt a clear position on the regulatory framework for the rapidly expanding blockchain technology. Rapid action would create a unique opportunity for a massive inflow of money, Jure Soklič, the head of Hive Project, said.

"A crypto phenomenon has happened in Slovenia. A pile of money has been collected, but the regulatory framework is completely unclear," Soklič said on the sidelines of a recent Slovenian-German Chamber of Commerce event on blockchain.

All the cryptocommunity expects of the state is to clearly interpret the regulatory framework.

If the government, which says it wants to make Slovenia number one blockchain destination in the EU, manages to move faster than "Belarus, Gibraltar and others, it would create a unique opportunity to make money come to us instead of the other way around".

A clear framework would also create opportunities for jobs. "People are coming to work for us from abroad, and these are really well paid jobs. There are currently 300 in Ljubljana," Soklič said.

Slovenia and the EU are competing with the entire world in blockchain, believes another Hive Project member, Gregor Štorman, who also warned against populism, unfounded scaremongering about Ponzi schemes and excessively high tax rates.

"If we overtax everything everybody will leave ... It's better to take something than nothing," he added.

Štorman also called on the state to connect with people "who've been through this". "It's not only an opportunity, it's also a responsibility. This will affect the lives of young people and families, who will leave otherwise. Everybody who sits behind a desk and turns on a computer in an office in the morning must be aware of this responsibility."

Hive Project is one of the biggest blockchain successes in Slovenia. It has raised nine million US dollars for a factoring service with the help of an initial coin offering, an initial public offering of sorts but for cryptocurrency.