Crypto Policy Didn’t Occupy the Spotlight in Elections in Austria, Georgia

Political leaders in Austria, like other European Union nations, did not tap into the global crypto policy debate to sway voters during its recent election. In the run up to its election over the weekend Georgia, which has candidate status in the EU, was likewise quiet on the issue.

Nations such as the U.K. and others in Europe had already established how they wanted to regulate the sector before their elections, so little needed to be said about crypto before their polls opened. The U.S., where exchanges have been calling for bespoke rules, stands in stark contrast. Crypto has come up often prior to the Nov. 5 general election, and in Japan, politicians leaned on the need to reform crypto tax ahead of the general election which saw Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition lose its majority.

“Crypto and digital assets policy in the EU [European Union] isn’t really a partisan issue,” Mark Foster, EU policy lead at the Crypto Council for Innovation said. This was evident in the EU Parliament election, where no single party focused more on crypto issues.

Austria’s recent national election marked the far-right Freedom Party’s win in the Austrian parliament. The party won 29.2% of the vote and beat the ruling center-right People’s Party that came in second place with 26.5% of the vote. The winning party’s policies centered around immigration and the cost of living, but other Austrian parties have said they won’t work with it, leading to the nation’s President Alexander Van der Bellen asking the incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer to form a new government.

Politicians there did not lean into crypto discussions on the way to the Freedom Party’s parliamentary win. Austria is part of the European Union, a block of 27 nations that are already on their way to enforcing the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation, tailored rules for the sector. MiCA passed into law last year and will fully come into force in December.

Georgia, which cooperates politically and economically as an EU candidate, implemented regulations that required crypto companies to get registration in 2023. In the election over the weekend, voters chose to side with the ruling Georgian Dream Party, which secured around 54% of the vote. The elections were portrayed by parties as a choice between aligning further with Europe or Russia so, choosing the Georgian Dream Party signified a move towards the latter. The pro-European opposition parties are disputing the results.

However, the United National Movement (UNM) – a political opposition party in Georgia – recently joined up with Rarilabs to release a new blockchain solution for public administration leading up to the election.

Read more: Elections Across Europe Won’t Hinder Bloc’s Crypto Ambitions