French start-up ACINQ, one of the main developers behind the Lightning Network, has secured around €1M euros from the public investment bank. The move is one of the few times that a state-led entity in France has put their money towards the blockchain industry.

Public investment bank Bpifrance has announced it will be funding a French Lightning Network startup €1M euros out of a €7M funding round total.

Lightning Network Gets a Boost From the French Government

Lightning Network is getting a cash injection after one of the start-ups developing it secured over €7M euros in funding total, French business paper Les Echos reports. The French company ACINQ raised the money to further boost the adoption of the Lightning Network worldwide and boost Bitcoin’s scalability through second-layer solutions.

Most notably, the start-up was able to secure €1M euros from Bpifrance, a public investment bank in the country. It is likely the first time a public entity has invested directly in Bitcoin’s development, let along alone any blockchain-related enterprise in France. Bpifrance has some €59.7B in assets managed under its name.

ACINQ is currently one of the top 3 companies working on Lightning Network, alongside Blockstream and Lightning Labs.

France: A Blockchain Hub?

France has set itself apart from other European nations in the past year by leading the charge on cryptocurrency-related regulations, as BeInCrypto has previously reported. With the help of its Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, France is one of the few 1st world economies to outline rules of play for traders and digital assets. French Digital Economy Minister Mounir Mahjoubim has also echoed similar sentiments, waiting to make France a ‘blockchain champion.’

All of this comes at a time when Bitcoin adoption is booming in France. East2PlayPayment and EasyWallet will be working with Global POS to allow for Bitcoin payments at over 25,000 retail locations sometime in Q1 2020.

Overall, France seems to be leading the charge in Europe on blockchain adoption.

What are your thoughts on the progress on Lightning Network so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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