Estonia plans to raise funds to launch a program to integrate cryptocurrency into the state economy

To date, Estonia has entered into a partnership agreement with Chronobank, a company specializing in recruiting and payments using Blockchain technology. Chronobank is acting as an advisor to the government-backed token crowdfunding program.

Estonia is one of the first countries whose government is intensively integrating information technology into economic management. An electronic system for simplified registration of non-resident entrepreneurs who have expressed a desire to conduct business in Estonia has been introduced. Upon registration, foreign investors receive a personal digital identifier, which makes it possible to obtain an electronic signature, register a company in the European Union, open current accounts and conduct business activities. 

The attempt to create a unique national cryptocurrency Estcoin became a logical continuation on the path of development of the country's digital economy. This project would allow Estonia to invest in new developments and digital technologies. Estcoin was planned as a parallel national currency, and state supervision would become a guarantor of security. 

Such a statement by the Estonian government was negatively received by the EU Central Bank. Mario Draghi, who is the President of the ECB, rejected the initiative of the Estonian government. “No EU member state can issue its own currency. The only currency in the Eurozone is the euro,” said Mario Draghi. But, despite the strict refusal, Estonia intends to look for alternative ways to introduce its own cryptocurrency. One of the solutions, according to Daniel Heller from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, could be a public-private partnership.

Today, Estonia has entered into a partnership agreement with Chronobank, a company specializing in recruiting and payments using Blockchain technology. Chronobank acts as a consultant to the crowdfunding program for government-backed tokens. The main concept of the Austrian company Chronobank is a cryptocurrency based on working time as an asset.

This project plans to create a non-governmental organization TokenEST SA and a commercial structure TokenEST OU. With an ICO scheduled for January 2018, TokenEST hopes to raise 30 million euros for the development of the Estonian project to expand financial resources and the cryptocurrency market in the country.

How European Central Bank regulators will react this time - time will tell.