The European Commission’s regulatory sandbox for innovative use cases in blockchain will evaluate submitted applications and determine the composition of the first 20-use case cohort.
Since project launch in mid-February, the European Blockchain Sandbox team was on the road throughout the European Economic Area to raise awareness about this unique project, amongst innovators, regulators and public authorities.
Presenting at conferences and webinars for blockchain use case owners, influencers, investors, and associations/communities, the project team had the opportunity to collect valuable feedback and gauge public reception. The blockchain ecosystem welcomes the project as a step to build critical bridges between regulators and use-cases owners on a cross-sectoral basis and in a cross border dialogue. The collaboration of respected blockchain stakeholders, including the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA), the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), and the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, was invaluable in ensuring effective promotion and outreach of the initiative.
The regulatory sandbox attracted considerable media attention, having been covered by 120+ publications from around the world (in Europe, North America, Japan, China, and the Middle East).
Throughout the process, the project team has built a library of Frequently Asked Questions, which provide official responses to questions received, in a way that is accessible to the public in an equal and transparent manner. Please find them here (FAQs)
Selection Process
Applications to participate in the first cohort of the regulatory sandbox are closed as of the 15th of April 0:00. The dedicated Selection Team will closely examine all applications submitted before the deadline. Those will be evaluated based on the Selection Criteria, which are publicly available on the website (Selection Criteria). One use case of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure, approved by the EBP, will participate in the lot for public entities.
The Selection Team is led by blockchain experts from WBNoDE and overseen by a panel of independent academics consisting of Professor Roman Beck (IT-University, Copenhagen), Professor Soulla Louca (University of Nicosia, Cyprus), and Professor Walter Blocher (Universities of Kassel and Vienna).
Applicants have already received a confirmation of their submission and will be notified by email by the end of June at the latest once a decision has been reached, as well as receive information about the project onboarding stage, should they be selected to take part in the first cohort.
About the European Blockchain Sandbox
The goal of the European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox is to facilitate the cross-border dialogue with and between regulators and supervisors on the one hand, and companies or public authorities on the other hand. In these dialogues, use case developers can present their business case to receive legal guidance from regulators. The law firm Bird & Bird acts as a facilitator, sets up a safe interface between developers and regulators and provides legal advice to selected blockchain use cases. Regulatory questions may concern any area of law. The sandbox will allow supervisors to enhance their knowledge of cutting-edge technologies involving DLT. Lessons learned will be shared between participating regulators, helping the European Commission to identify best practices. The European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox will cooperate with other relevant sandboxing frameworks, in particular the EU Digital Finance Platform and the Artificial Intelligence Sandboxes once established under the AI Act. This collaboration is of pivotal importance given the increasing convergence of innovative technologies in use cases often involving several industry sectors.
The sandbox establishes a pan-European framework for regulatory dialogues to increase legal certainty for innovative blockchain solutions. Funded by the Digital Europe Programme and delivering on the SME strategy, the sandbox will run from 2023 to 2026 and will annually support 20 projects including public sector use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure. Projects will be chosen through calls for expression of interest. Every year, the most innovative regulator participating in the sandbox will also be awarded a prize. The sandbox will be facilitated by a consortium under the leadership of Bird & Bird and its consulting arm OXYGY supported by blockchain experts of WBNoDE and web-designers of Spindox, which has been procured through an open call for tenders in 2022. The selection process will be overseen by a panel of independent academic experts.
For more information please contact: info@blockchain-sandbox.eu
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