Europe struggles to advance blockchain in healthcare sector

Europe continues to encounter major challenges in adopting blockchain within the healthcare industry, despite global momentum toward digital transformation.  

While regions such as Asia and the United States have made strides in blockchain integration, Europe faces roadblocks driven by regulatory uncertainty, fragmented strategies, and institutional caution.  

A key issue is the region's regulatory complexity.  

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation aims to unify rules for digital assets, offering guidance for stablecoins and crypto service providers.  

However, critics argue that MiCA places a heavy compliance burden on startups, discouraging smaller players from innovating.  

Lack of clear regulation around decentralised finance (DeFi), NFTs, and DAOs leaves many businesses operating in a grey area.  

Market fragmentation further complicates the landscape.  

Countries like Germany, Estonia, and Switzerland have taken individual approaches to blockchain adoption, but these efforts lack coordination.  

This absence of a unified framework hinders cross-border interoperability and limits scalability.  

According to Volker Nürnberg, a professor at the Technical University of Munich, Germany’s healthcare sector remains highly regulated and risk-averse.  

“Startups, in particular, don’t always want to fight their way through the legal jungle,” he said.

Such institutional reluctance is also evident among banks and corporations, which often view blockchain as speculative rather than infrastructural.  

Public scepticism, fueled by media reports of crypto-related fraud, adds to the hesitancy.  

A Bloomberg report highlighted concerns from the Bank of Italy and EU officials, warning that crypto-assets could destabilise financial markets if they gain systemic importance.  

However, initiatives like the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) aim to demonstrate practical applications for blockchain across public services.  

Combined with generational leadership shifts and increasing digital demand, such efforts may slowly steer Europe toward broader blockchain acceptance.  

Still, the region stands at a crossroads—whether to cautiously proceed or fully embrace the potential of blockchain in healthcare.