The government of the Spanish autonomous community of Aragon has allocated over 12 million euros ($13 million) for the development of “Industry 4.0,” which includes blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and other emerging technologies. The news was announced by local news outlet La Vanguardia on Feb. 12. The funds — the amount of which is reportedly twice the originally planned amount — were co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the Operational Program of Aragon for 2014–2020. The donation will be used for the development of industrial property and consulting projects, as well as the analysis and planning …

Spain’s central bank has issued a reminder to citizens warning of the risks involved in transacting unregulated cryptocurrencies. The Bank of Spain’s notice, issued Feb. 10, followed an official blog post published two days earlier, which had outlined the institution’s stance on cryptocurrencies, their characteristics, and their legal status in Spain and the wider European Union. Both documents underscore the fact that Spain has not yet passed any legislation in regard to cryptocurrency, and that crypto exchange platforms and other companies in the sector are thus neither supervised nor authorized by the central bank. Crypto platforms also do not carry …

The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has signed an agreement under which it will collaborate with IBM on its shipping platform Tradelens, Europa News reported on Jan. 21. Tradelens is a digital platform based on blockchain technology developed by both IBM and international shipping giant Maersk. Algeciras is one of the top 10 busiest ports in Europe, hosting over 70 million tons of cargo traffic annually. In 2017, the port had a container throughput of 4.3 million containers. According to an APBA note seen by Europa News, the platform will allow APBA to more securely and efficiently …

Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT has joined Alastria consortium to work on the development of blockchain-based products. Cointelegraph in Spanish reported the news Jan. 16. Founded in 1950, SEAT is a state-owned industrial company and Spain’s largest car manufacturer. SEAT’s turnover reportedly reached a record figure of 9.552 billion euro ($10.878 billion) in 2017, which is 11.1% more than the year prior. Per the recent announcement, SEAT joined Alastria, a multi-industry, semi-public consortium backed by a national network of more than 70 companies and establishments. These include such major players as banks BBVA and Banco Santander, telecommunications provider Telefónica, energy firm …

Madrid-based energy company Repsol reported a successful test of a blockchain pilot to improve the quality of safety certification of its products. Cointelegraph in Spanish reported the news on Jan. 15. Established in 1987, Repsol is a leading energy company that operates in the oil and gas industry, including exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. In the first nine months of 2018, the company’s net income reached 2,7 billion euros, rising by 37 percent since the beginning of the year, according to Financial Times. The Repsol Technology Lab Research Center (Tech Lab) and blockchain startup Finboot, …

Spain’s major energy company, Iberdrola, has started using blockchain to track renewable energy, Spanish independent news agency Europa Press reports on Monday, Jan. 14. The first trial was conducted in cooperation with Kutxabank, a local bank based in the Basque Autonomous Community that owns a substantial part of Iberdrola's equity, and its subsidiary Cajasur. During the pilot, Iberdrola monitored the renewable energy delivered from two wind farms and one power station to banks’ offices located in Basque Country and the southern city of Cordoba. The company used Energy Web Foundation — an open source blockchain platform designed to fit the …

The Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) has added 23 unauthorized forex and cryptocurrency entities to its warning list on Jan. 14. Among the companies added to the list is Blonde Bear OÜ, also referred to as Black Parrot Ltd., which claims to be a forex and cryptocurrency exchange operator but reportedly operates in Spain without a license. The company, which operated on the trade111.com and tradex1.com domains, has also been flagged by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority for operating in Poland without the required license. Another company added to the CNMV’s warning list is Dax300, also known as Brown …

Disclaimer: An article from Dutch news outlet Algemeen Dagblad published in January 2019 alleges that the deal did not take place as claimed by Libereum. Cointelegraph has contacted both Elche CF and Libereum for comment. Dutch crypto firm Libereum has acquired Spanish soccer club Elche CF for $4.9 million, according to a press release published to the Libereum website Dec. 26. The acquisition marks the first step in the crypto company’s ambitions to purchase a set of international soccer clubs and make its ERC20 token, Liber, a mandatory form of payment in the stadiums of those clubs it owns. Libereum …

Spanish renewable energy company ACCIONA Energía is going to deploy blockchain to trace electricity generation, according to an announcement published Dec. 17. ACCIONA Energía is an international global renewable energy operator, that reportedly produces emission-free energy for over 6 million homes. The company is recognized as one of the largest renewable energy developers, with more than 9,000 MW owned and installed. ACCIONA started the project after it reached an agreement with FlexiDAO, a Barcelona-based startup that offers software tools to electric power companies for digital energy services. With this move, ACCIONA plans to allow its clients to check the provenance …

Spain’s second largest bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), has closed a €150 million loan using blockchain technology with Porsche Holding, the largest car distributor in Europe. The news was reported by financial news site Finextra Dec. 14. The transaction is reportedly BBVA’s first blockchain-based loans deal with a non-Spanish borrower. The bank has to date arranged several blockchain-based loans with Spanish corporate customers, including a syndicated loan of $150 million for partly state-owned Spanish national electrical grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) in November, and a €100 million long-term bilateral corporate loan with Spanish engineering firm ACS. Finextra …

Seven southern European Union member states have released a declaration calling for help in the promotion of Distributed Ledger Technology’s (DLT) use in the region, the Financial Times (FT) reports Dec. 4. The declaration was reportedly initiated by Malta and signed by six other member states, France, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain and Greece, during a meeting of EU transport ministers in Brussels on Tuesday. The participating governments explained that DLT –– one type of which is blockchain –– could be a “game changer” for southern EU economies. Namely, the document cites “education, transport, mobility, shipping, Land Registry, customs, company registry, …

Global retail giant Auchan is expanding TE-FOOD’s blockchain solution to improve the transparency of products’ history, U.S.-based news agency Cision PRWeb reports today, Dec. 4. The French retail group, which is reportedly the 13th largest food retailer globally with operations in 17 countries, has extended TE-FOOD’s FoodChain solution to five more countries. FoodChain is the international traceability information ledger by TE-FOOD, first applied by Auchan in its Vietnam branch. After a 18-month test of TE-FOOD’s blockchain tool in Vietnam, Auchan has now decided to deploy the products’ traceability solution in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Senegal. The blockchain-powered retail monitoring …