We've hand-picked the most important blockchain and crypto news that matters to your business. So let's dive into the updates!

Italian government to fund $46 million in subsidies for blockchain projects

The Italian Ministry for Economic Development has announced that specific blockchain projects can apply for government funding of $46 million. This clearly shows that the Italian government is supportive of blockchain technology and its potential applications.

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Both public and private companies will be eligible for the subsidies, which will be awarded based on merit. This is an excellent opportunity for blockchain projects in Italy to get government support and funding. Along with blockchain projects, the government has also decided to fund IoT and AI projects that will empower innovation.

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Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti said — "The goal of competitiveness requires the manufacturing industry to constantly innovate and use the potential of new technologies." Further, he added, "We support companies' investments in cutting-edge technologies to encourage the modernization of production systems through management models that are increasingly interconnected, efficient, secure, and fast."

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With this funding, companies across the country can bring their blockchain projects to life and help Italy become a leader in innovation and technology.

Virginia county plans to use blockchain to store land titles:

The Board of Supervisors in Virginia has voted to explore using blockchain technology to store land titles. The county is home to many large tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, and is considered a hub for innovation.

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The county plans to work with blockchain technology to create a decentralized ledger of land titles. This would be a secure way to store and manage land titles, as well as other essential documents. The use of blockchain would also help to streamline the process of transferring ownership of land.

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Moreover, the company plans to integrate Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure into the project, which would make it even more secure and efficient.

The use of blockchain technology in the land title industry has the potential to revolutionize the way records are kept and managed. This pilot project in Virginia is a step in the right direction, and we hope to see more counties follow suit.

We still have a thing called title insurance, where someone actually has to go out, go to the local municipality, look for a paper title in a file, and then, you know, pay a lawyer. So I think those are the kinds of places where blockchain can be effective at driving efficiencies, said Ather Williams III, a senior EVP for digital innovation at Wells Fargo.

Bitstamp to levy an inactive fee to cover expenses

Popular cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has announced that it will levy a monthly fee on users who do not trade or hold any cryptocurrency on the platform. The inactivity fee will be valid for customers with balances below $200 for the last 12 months. The move is designed to cover the costs of maintaining inactive accounts and deter people from using the platform solely for storage purposes.

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The inactivity fee is 10 Euros and will be charged on the first day of every month. It will go into effect on August 1, and all customers have been notified through email.

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This is not the first time an exchange has implemented such a fee, and it is likely that we will see more exchanges follow suit in the future. This is a good move by Bitstamp, as it will help to keep the platform running smoothly and efficiently. However, this fee does not apply to US customers as of now.

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