International law firm Bird & Bird and OXYGY today announce together with the European Commission the 20 use cases which have been selected for the first cohort of the European Blockchain Sandbox.
One use case of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure has been approved by the EBP for participation in the lot for public entities, and 19 additional use cases were selected in accordance with a carefully curated selection process. The selected use cases span all EU/EEA regions and represent a wide range of industry sectors and regulatory topics.
The pan-European sandbox is set up and operated by a consortium of legal experts from Bird & Bird and its consulting arm OXYGY. The selection was done by blockchain experts Warren Brandeis and was overseen by a panel of independent academics consisting of Professor Roman Beck (IT-University Copenhagen, Denmark), Professor Soulla Louca (University of Nicosia, Cyprus) and Professor Walter Blocher (University of Kassel, Germany).
Below are the 20 use cases selected for first cohort of European Blockchain Sandbox (where applicable with their consortium partners):
Commissariat à l’énergie atomique
EBSI Verifiable Credentials Use Case
Fraunhofer (Open Logistics Foundation, ALS Holding)
Stichting 2Tokens (Rabobank, ABN AMRO Bank, Catena Investment, Enercoin, Catena Power)
The matching process for this first group of 20 use cases is nearing completion and the confidential regulatory dialogues are about to begin. Once these dialogues have concluded, a best practices report will be published.
Eligible use cases who have not been selected for the 2023 cohort or use cases who have not had the opportunity to apply, are welcome to apply for the second and third cohort, in early 2024 and early 2025 respectively.
If you are interested in becoming a participant in the next cohort Sandbox, please find out more here and subscribe to our newsletter here.
Background
The European Blockchain Sandbox
The European Blockchain Sandbox for innovative use cases involving Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) is an initiative of the European Commission. The goal of the project is to provide a framework for regulators, supervising authorities and blockchain innovators to engage in a regulatory dialogue, identify obstacles from a legal & regulatory perspective in a safe and confidential environment, and therefore increase legal certainty for innovative decentralised technology solutions, including blockchain. The sandbox allows regulators and supervisors to enhance their knowledge of cutting edge blockchain technologies.
The Sandbox consortium
The pan-European sandbox is set up and operated by a consortium of legal experts from Bird & Bird and its consulting arm OXYGY, supported by blockchain experts Warren Brandeis and by the web-designers of Spindox, which has been procured through an open call for tenders in 2022. The selection and the award process are 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 Germany).
Next steps for the Sandbox
This three-year initiative supports 20 projects annually, starting in 2023, and is open to use cases across the EU/EEA based on any blockchain infrastructure. Blockchain use cases are selected based on a number of criteria, including the maturity of their business case, legal/regulatory relevance and their contribution to the EU’s wider policy priorities. Selected use cases are then matched with national and EU regulators. Further information about the selection criteria and the application process can be found on the website, here. Companies (including start-ups and scale-ups) and public entities with a validated proof of concept are invited to participate. Every year, the most innovative regulator participating in the sandbox will be awarded a prize.
If you are interested in becoming a participant in the next cohort Sandbox, please find out more here and subscribe to our newsletter here.