22-6-2025 – Samson Mow, the visionary founder of Jan3, is spearheading efforts to weave Bitcoin into the financial fabric of European nation-states. Following an invigorating dialogue with Sarah Knafo, a dynamic French Member of the European Parliament, at the BTC Prague conference, Mow is poised to ignite a transformative wave of Bitcoin adoption across France, with ambitions to ripple through the continent. Their discussions, rich with potential, centred on crafting a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for France and championing regulations that nurture the cryptocurrency’s growth.
Knafo, captivated by Mow’s expertise—honed through his advisory role to El Salvador’s President—has extended an invitation to his Jan3 team to visit France, where they will delve deeper into strategies to anchor Bitcoin within the nation’s economic framework. Sharing her enthusiasm on her X account, Knafo underscored the urgency for France to seize this moment, lauding Mow’s global insights and describing their exchange as profoundly inspiring. Mow, who stepped away from Blockstream in March 2022 to dedicate himself to nation-state Bitcoin adoption, also crossed paths with Michael Saylor, the audacious executive chairman of Strategy, whom Knafo hailed as a trailblazer.
France’s burgeoning Bitcoin landscape is gaining momentum, with Knafo hinting at a slew of forthcoming initiatives poised to reshape both national and European markets. This aligns with France’s intensifying engagement with cryptocurrency, evidenced by the state-owned bank Bpifrance’s commitment on March 27 to inject 25 million euros into local crypto and blockchain ventures. Meanwhile, Paris-based Blockchain Group bolstered its portfolio on June 3, acquiring 624 Bitcoin for 60.2 million euros, elevating its holdings to 1,471 Bitcoin—a testament to the private sector’s growing confidence.
Yet, Europe’s journey towards widespread crypto adoption is not without hurdles. Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at Brickken, a platform tokenising real-world assets, cautioned that corporate uptake in Europe remains tepid. She pointed to regulatory fragmentation, institutional hesitancy, and nascent market maturity as barriers stifling progress. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, proposed in September 2020, adopted in May 2023, and fully implemented by December 2024, has yet to fully clarify Bitcoin’s role as a reserve asset, leaving some to question whether Europe risks falling behind in the global race for crypto dominance.
