Europe is rapidly becoming the world’s cryptocurrency hub, with a significant amount of EUR funding being directed into cryptocurrency projects.

So far this year, the value of token sales in Europe is close to exceeding that of Asia and the U.S. combined.

Fabric Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in blockchain and decentralized network projects, released a report detailing the possible reasons behind the surge in European ICO funding in 2018.

It cited positive regulatory revelations, the separation of economies in the European Union, and increasing development activity.

According to the report, in 2018 alone, ICO fundraising in Europe is approximately $4.1 billion, nearly double that of the $2.3 billion that has been raised so far in Asia, and significantly more than the $2.6 billion that has been raised in the United States.

Friendly Regulation Beginning to Take Form

One major factor behind increased global ICO funding in 2018 is an increasing amount of “do-no-harm” regulation, especially from European countries.

The report notes that in Asia, ICO funding may be slightly hampered by the fact that regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore, two major Asian cryptocurrency hubs, are defining cryptocurrencies as security products, which subject them to greater regulatory scrutiny.

This is compared to multiple nations in the European Union, which are quickly gaining ground as cryptocurrency hubs due to incredibly light and non-restrictive regulations.

European Nations Accounting for Significant Amount of ICO Funding

The report specifically explains that Gibraltar and Malta, two of the EU’s smallest nations, are drawing a significant amount of ICO funding, totaling at approximately $300 million.

Despite their widely-known status as “crypto nations,” they are still behind larger nations, which are pulling the majority of the European ICO fundraising weight.

So far in 2018, $490 million has been raised in the U.K., who is slightly behind Switzerland, which has raised $556 million in ICOs this year. Lithuania has also secured its place as a cryptocurrency hub, raising $271 million so far this year.

The report also notes that the increase in European ICO fundraising can also be attributed to a strong project formation in Europe, with most notable cryptocurrency projects locating themselves in a handful of major European cities.

“While an increasing number of countries strive to attract crypto projects by creating a regulatory ‘sandbox’, the majority of founding teams and developer talent remain Europe-based. London, Zug, Berlin, and Tallinn are just a handful of cities leading Europe with robust blockchain talent. It comes as no surprise that these cities have historically been hubs for attracting top fintech startups,” the report explains.

According to ICO fundraising tracker, CoinSchedule, 2018 has been a great year for ICO fundraising despite the cryptocurrency bear market, with a total of 889 ICOs raising over three times as much as what was raised in 2017.

Featured image from Shutterstock.