On February 6, a Spanish city announced very exciting crypto plans. The board of Torrevieja, a tourist attraction near Alicante, has plans to become a true crypto hub. The town with a population of 82 thousand people will allow stores to accept crypto payments.
A Spanish City of Crypto
The plans are part of an “ambitious digital transformation project”, according to the words of the Torrevieja board. The first step here is to “promote trade”. People can pay with crypto assets in stores. The Spanish city Torrevieja wants to digitize trade using blockchain technology.
It has also been announced that the University of Alicante will offer courses to local companies so that they can learn more or make payments with digital assets.
In future phases, efforts will be made to create new jobs in the technological sector and generate financing for companies.
Since 2015, it has been legal to pay with crypto in Spain. But to date, no projects have ever gotten off the ground to promote widespread adoption. Torrevieja’s crypto project is therefore a first.
Spain has Stablecoin Plans
The project testifies to Spain’s crypto-friendly position. For example, in 2023 the number of crypto companies in the country increased by more than 50 percent. It was also announced at the beginning of this month that Spain will start the test phase for its own stablecoin, the EURM.
The EURM project is being developed by MONEI, a fintech company that simplifies digital payments. The EURM facilitates the sending of euros free of charge through a token linked to the euro 1:1. In an inflationary environment, the user’s purchasing power is maintained through the 1% coupon guaranteed by top-rated Spanish Sovereign Green Bonds. The use of Ethereum 2.0 to develop this project represents significant energy savings.
MONEI has submitted an application to the Bank of Spain’s Financial Sandbox to launch its own digital euro: EURM. The financial sandbox is a controlled testing environment allowing innovative fintech-based projects to test with real users, while under the supervision and control of the authority. Once it gets the go-ahead from the regulator (the Bank of Spain), the project will start with a pilot of 500 users, both companies and individuals, who will be allowed to issue 10 euros per participant.
Although not specifically mentioned, the EURM plans appear to be part of the Spanish Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) plans. Since 2022, the Spanish central bank, the Bank of Spain, has been working on a CBDC. In the past, the bank announced that it would develop its own CBDC, independent of the European plans for a joint digital euro.
It is unclear whether the crypto project in the Spanish city Torrevieja has anything to do with this pilot, and to what extent the EURM stablecoin will play a role in this. However, the developments in Torrevieja and the EURM project both signify Spain’s progressive stance towards the adoption of digital currencies.
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