Germany’s government has begun consulting companies and industry groups on the potential of blockchain technology, ahead of unveiling its strategy for the sector by summer this year.

According to unnamed government sources reported by Reuters (Feb 18), these companies and industry groups “that could become stakeholders in a blockchain deployment process” have been invited to submit their recommendations on the strategy starting this week. However, it is unclear currently whether those suggestions could result in any new legislation.

Europe’s biggest economy has been showing great interest in blockchain technology from across various industries, from the public administration to pharmaceuticals, energy, and automotive sectors. Berlin, the capital and the largest city in Germany, is a hotbed for startups of which around 170 of them are related to blockchain.

Reuters noted that blockchain startups have said before the lack of a legal framework means higher barriers to entry to participate in the economy. Few major economies have drawn up extensive frameworks or strategies to foster blockchain startups so far.

Germany has seemed relatively positive so far in its attitude toward blockchain technology. Back in June last year, Felix Hufeld, president of the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), said that blockchain technology is “revolutionary” and its applications could turn the entire financial sector “upside down”.

Enthusiasm for blockchain innovation has been spreading in the EU. Its Parliament recently called for measures to boost blockchain adoption across the region. Seven EU member nations – France, Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, and Spain – have banded together to boost blockchain adoption, improve government services, and boost financial development.

Last week, Luxembourg began to recognize blockchain securities as being legally of equal status with traditional securities. Earlier this month, Italy’s Parliament approved a bill defining distributed ledger technology (DLT). Other smaller European countries such as Malta have been attracting blockchain companies by designing favorable laws for their growth.