Germany has by far the most startups, but there is little enterprise involvement and an unfriendly fiscal situation that leave room for improvement.
Download our latest report, Blockchain in Europe 2020 Review to read our full analysis on the European blockchain ecosystems, or download the country ratings and industry overviews.
Berlin is home to one of the most thriving startup ecosystems. This is true for blockchain startups as well, giving Germany a nearly perfect score of 9.5 out of 10 in that section our European Blockchain Review 2020. Other areas are not as strong, and bring down Germany’s overall score to 65.0 out of 100.0. The commitment on the ground, level of innovation, and community sets Germany apart from other country’s ecosystems as a standout in Europe, though.
Ethereum has always had a strong presence in Berlin, and the decentralised management style is alive and well in the community. As Maria Paula Fernández’s, Founder and Director Department of Decentralization + ETHBerlin(decentralala.com) and Head of Communications, Golem Factory GmbH, description of Berlin Blockchain Week 2019 shows. This was an event that at its core was decentralised, following the main tenets of blockchain.
Maria Paula Fernández describes the organisation of the event:
‘My organization [Department of Decentralization] conceived the Berlin Blockchain Week — and I kickstarted the efforts. I was super naive and just emailed people I knew from meetups, pitched the concept (a decentralized, ownerless week organized by a collective effort of the Berlin ecosystem) and made a Slack channel they could join. That was at the start of 2018. When seeing the week was indeed autonomous, our organization (DoD) stepped back and we gave the channel and the governance to the community. What happened afterward was stranger than fiction — 2019 Berlin Blockchain Week was bigger than I could have ever imagined’.
Berlin’s blockchain community came together to function in a truly decentralised manner, and the ability for the Berlin community to rally and organise at this level is revolutionary. Not only is the community excited to innovate new products, but they have fully enmeshed the ethos of blockchain into basic functions. This level of participation and commitment to decentralisation is what we saw in our own research into Berlin’s blockchain ecosystem, and the reason why we feel Germany is still a major player in Europe - a community that sets the highest standards and meets them.
Over coming years, decentralisation could spread further, connecting the world through peer-to-peer networks. Berlin has the experience and commitment to spearhead this movement.
Maggie is a writer, researcher, and editor. Trained in literature, critical theory, and gender studies, they are now exploring the ways that technology is changing the landscape of human interaction.
