Berchain wants to turn Berlin into a crypto capital
No time right now?
Supported by the Senate, the Berchain alliance wants to establish the federal capital as a crypto metropolis. In addition to startups, workshops and training courses are also to be promoted.
New technological developments have the habit of choosing a specific location in which to set up their headquarters. The choice mostly falls on areas that offer particularly favorable (tax) conditions and a good infrastructure. Other factors such as a high standard of living and a socially compatible environment for employees in the respective industry should also not be underestimated. The Bay Area around the Californian coastal city of San Francisco has met all of these factors for Google, Facebook, Apple and Co. and has been a haven for the tech industry worldwide with Silicon Valley for decades. Not all tech giants are based there – Microsoft, for example, is located around 1,300 kilometers further north in the US state of Washington – but especially the startups founded after the turn of the millennium have opted for the sunny Bay Area.
Something similar happened in Switzerland, not only several years ago with the still internationally important banks and credit institutions, but a few years ago with the blockchain scene. It has chosen the Central European nation as its headquarters and has produced crypto currencies such as Ethereum, Polkadot, Tezos and Cardano. This is one of the reasons why Zurich is sometimes referred to as a “crypto city”, while the canton of Zug is known as “Crypto Valley“. But in a comparatively young industry, these location questions are anything but set. And when it comes to decentralized currencies, other regions of the world can also register their claims as crypto headquarters.
Berlin also wants to be at the forefront, offering the crypto scene a home – and is even getting support from the Senate for this. Because the Berchain association wants Berlin to be Crypto capital elect.
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Berchain: “Place to be” for blockchain startups
The aim of the data-driven undertaking is to bring together the Berlin crypto space in a clear manner in order to give interested parties a better overview of the situation of blockchain startups in Berlin. These interested parties can be investors or employees looking for a new job, or founders who are looking for a suitable location for their startup. The registered association was founded almost exactly two years ago. Under the motto: “We are taking the Berlin blockchain ecosystem to the next level and ensuring that Berlin is and will remain the ‘place to be’ for the blockchain.”
Berchain eV also wants to use the regional advantages of Berlin to advance the blockchain technology – “especially the democratic potential”. With this in mind, the non-profit association organizes events around the topic of blockchain, which are currently taking place virtually, otherwise physically. Workshops, training courses, publications and public discussions are also on the Berchain agenda. In order to pursue the ambitious goals, support has been secured from the official side – in the form of the Berlin Senate. Norbert Herrmann from the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises supports Berlin as a crypto location. Why is Berlin such a nutritious soil for (blockchain) startups?
There are many reasons for this, says Herrmann. The already established alumni of the “first wave” of startups that became successful in Berlin and then stayed in the federal capital are of great importance. Today they would serve as “mentors, teachers, multipliers and investors”, said Herrmann about Berchain. In addition to comparatively cheap apartments and offices, the availability of talent, technology and Berlin’s tolerance are also important. Berlin has been “attractive for a very heterogeneous group of innovative people” for some time, he says.
Bringing this group of people together in the crypto space is the self-chosen task of the Berchain association.
The author of the article is Paol Hergert.
