EUBOF Newsletter - July 2023

This is the official newsletter of the European Union Blockchain Observatory & Forum (EUBOF).

We are pleased to present our monthly update of EUBOF activities.?

This edition of the #EUBlockchain newsletter includes a brief roundup of upcoming workshops and publications.?

News

Introducing ‘DeFi Horizons: Convergence of Regulators, Industry, and Academia’?

Our ground-breaking event held on 12 June 2023 brought together IOTA, EUCI, EBA, EUBOF, Cornell University, and members of the European Commission and the AMF to raise awareness about the need for different stakeholders, such as industry players, regulators, and academia, to join forces to discuss the current status of DeFi, including its associated risks and potential regulatory approaches.

By facilitating these discussions, the event aimed to foster a well-informed ecosystem that can collectively navigate the evolving DeFi landscape.?

As a result of these discussions, we prepared a?report that?captures valuable insights shared by industry leaders, regulators, and academics shaping the future regulatory landscape.

Special thanks to Mariana de la Roche,?the IOTA Foundation & INATBA; Marina Markezic and Anja Blaj, EUCI; Erwin Voloder, EBA, and Tonia Damvakeraki, for the organisation of the event and the consolidation of the report, as well as their overall efforts to bring regulatory clarity to the blockchain ecosystem.

European Blockchain Sandbox announces the first cohort of 20 use cases

Since applications first opened for the first cohort of twenty use cases for the European Blockchain Sandbox, the project team have observed significant interest from across the blockchain community in Europe and internationally.

By the deadline on 15 April at 00:00, almost 90 applications were submitted, which confirmed the keen interest from the blockchain ecosystem in the project as a step towards building critical bridges between regulators and use-cases owners on a cross-sectoral basis and in a cross-border dialogue. Applications were received from throughout the EU/EEA representing a wide range of different blockchain and DLT applications and associated regulatory challenges.

One use case of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure, approved by the EBP, will participate in the lot for public entities and, therefore, 19 use cases had to be selected in accordance with a carefully curated selection process 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), applying our official selection criteria, which are available to view on the website.

Now that the selection phase has been completed, the sandbox team are pleased to present the aggregated results of the selection process for the first cohort of the European Blockchain Sandbox. Please be advised that eligible use-cases that have not been selected can go on a waiting list and are welcome to apply for the second and third cohorts, in early 2024 and early 2025 respectively.

A selected use case can be operational in more than one country. The selected use cases are operational in all five EU/EEA regions, in accordance with the objective of cross-geographic representation.

What’s next?

Following the selection of use cases, the most relevant regulatory areas for the dialogues have been identified and matching with relevant national and EU regulators is ongoing. Once the matching process is complete, the selected projects for the first cohort of 20 use cases will be published and the dialogues will start in a safe and confidential environment. At the conclusion of these dialogues, a best-practices report for the benefit of the wider blockchain community will be published.

Building a Chain of Transformation: Join the BC100+ Manifesto and Drive Global Sustainable Impact

BC100+ is an initiative that brings together a variety of organisations from across different sectors. The initiative’s main goal is to raise awareness of the potential of?blockchain for social impact and sustainability. BC100+ explores the potential of blockchain technology to address systemic issues such as inequality, poverty, and climate change by rebuilding trust, empowering communities, asserting accountability, and re-distributing value on a global level. With its core features, blockchain technology could play a role in the acceleration of much-needed changes in our global food system, energy infrastructure, and biodiversity protection, among other issues. As its core function, BC100+ intends to promote quality debate, raise awareness, and clarify the opportunities of blockchain’s role in realising the UN Charter Values and the 2030 Agenda.

Members of the BC100+ Steering Committee are excited to announce the release of the BC100+ Manifesto, a defining document that sets forth the principles and vision for driving positive change through blockchain technology. With this milestone, the BC100+ initiative takes a momentous stride towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.

The Manifesto represents a commitment by the BC100+ signatories to leverage blockchain technology's transformative potential for social good. It outlines a comprehensive set of guiding principles that shape the actions and goals of the BC100+ initiative. The initiative accepts applications from a diverse range of organisations from three target groups: blockchain projects and experts, UN offices with blockchain projects, and SDG projects with or without blockchain applications. Successful applicants will be accepted on the basis of their alignment with the BC100+ Manifesto's principles.

By becoming part of BC100+, organisations have the opportunity to be at the forefront of positive transformation through blockchain technology. They will gain access to a vibrant ecosystem of like-minded peers, forging new collaborations, and driving collective action towards shared sustainable development goals. Moreover, they will have the valuable opportunity to engage with other organisations, facilitating collaboration, organising and participating in various events and activities, sharing knowledge and expertise, and exploring potential partnerships and opportunities.

While BC100+ has exciting plans for the future, the release of the Manifesto marks the first milestone of this system's leadership. It sets the stage for an era of innovation and collaboration, where blockchain technology can be harnessed to address some of the world's most pressing challenges, facilitating collaborative leadership to enable trust-building, learning, and empowered action among stakeholders who share a common goal.

You are invited to read and sign the Manifesto!

Upcoming Events

6th International Blockchain School 2023: Copenhagen, 14-18 August 2023

The International Blockchain School will be held at the IT University of Copenhagen between 14 and 18 August 2023. The International Blockchain School is an initiative of the European Blockchain Center and run jointly for the sixth year by faculty members from the IT University of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Business School, and Copenhagen University. The International Blockchain School would not be possible without the generous support of its?partners.

In this 6th Blockchain School, organised by the European Blockchain Center, we will focus on bringing together academia, industry, and the public sector to jointly work on decentralised finance systems with a special focus on regenerative finance (ReFi). PhD and master’s students from different disciplines and different regions are welcome to Copenhagen to co-create new ideas and develop solutions in close cooperation with partners from Copenhagen FinTech Lab, as well as industry partners and regulators from all over Europe.

The 6th International Blockchain School will have three tracks:

• Explorer Track

In this track, technical issues in existing Blockchain/DLT systems are discussed and potential solutions are developed. This is a makathon, where code is not necessarily written, but where potential solutions are developed conceptually.?No code experience is needed.

• Exploiter Track

In this track, we will offer the opportunity for students with prior experience of blockchain prototyping to work with organisations that already have prototypes developed. The intention is to further improve demonstrators, or design them anew, to meet the more advanced requirements and level of know-how of participating students as well as organisations.

• Tech Track

Students will work together with case organisations from industry and the public sector on developing blockchain prototypes in a 24-hour hackathon.

Visit the School website to find out more and apply for joining!

European Blockchain Convention 9, set to be Europe’s largest blockchain event in 2H 2023

Barcelona, Spain — European Blockchain Convention 9 is set to be Europe's largest blockchain event in 2H 2023, surpassing all its previous editions since the event was launched in 2018.

Ready to welcome 5,000 attendees, EBC9 is scheduled for 24-27 October 2023 in the vibrant city of Barcelona, ahead of the highly anticipated El Clasico clash between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid over the weekend.

A roster of 300 founders, CEOs and industry experts are scheduled to give talks at the event, including:

? Lars Bakke Krogvig - co-founder of Nansen

? Ambre Soubiran - CEO at Kaiko

? Manuel Nordeste - VP, Fidelity Digital Assets at Fidelity

? Alfonso Gomez - CEO at BBVA Switzerland

? Mounir Benchemled - founder of ParaSwap

? Coty de Monteverde - head of crypto & blockchain at Banco Santander

? Richard Muirhead - founding partner of Fabric Ventures

? Tim Grant - head of EMEA at Galaxy Digital

? Laurence Arnold - head of innovation at AXA Investment Managers

? Christoph Hock - managing director at Union Investment

? Jon Fink Isaksen - head of policy, EMEA, at Uniswap Labs

? Barbara Schlyter - head of digital products at DWS

? Robby Yung - CEO at Animoca Brands

? Tim Walther - manager Metaverse & NFT, Volkswagen

? Niccolò Bardoscia - head of digital assets at Intesa SanPaolo

? Adam Gagol - co-founder & CTO of Aleph Zero

? Guénolé de Cadoudal - head of digital assets at Credit Agricole

? Nathalie Oestmann - COO at Outlier Ventures

? Alex Odagiu - investment director at Binance Labs

This year's agenda will cover a wide range of topics, including the regulatory challenges in Europe and globally, the surge in adoption of digital assets, stablecoins, CBDCs, privacy, the institutionalisation of crypto, DeFi, sustainability, tokenisation, and the ascent of AI.

In addition to panel discussions and workshops hosted across 3 stages, the programme includes:

? 3,000m2 exhibition area for sponsors and exhibitors

? Ask-me-anything sessions with speakers

? A 1-to-1 meeting area

? 5 themed networking lounges to help people connect with each other

? A hackathon

? A startup competition

? An investor meetup

? An art gallery

‘We are extremely excited to bring together the worlds of TradFi, digital assets and Web3’, shared Daniel Salmeron, co-founder of the event. ‘The participation of so many traditional banks and financial institutions demonstrates their commitment and optimism about the future of crypto and digital assets’.

To learn more about European Blockchain Convention, including sponsorship, ticketing details, and the full list of speakers, visit the official website at www.eblockchainconvention.com.

Crypto whales are to meet at Blockchain Life 2023 in Dubai

Influential figures such as heads of global funds, government officials, investors, business owners, and promising startups come together in Dubai to shape the future of cryptocurrencies and Web3 at the 11th International Blockchain Life Forum on 24?and 25 October, in Dubai’s Festival Arena.?

Buy your ticket now at the presale price: blockchain-life.com/asia/en/?

The event remains a meeting point for crypto whales, attracting over 7,000 visitors from 120 countries.

Attendees can look forward to informative sessions led by leaders in the crypto industry, an innovative expo featuring 100 companies and amazing networking with key decision makers.?

Over 80 speakers are going to share their analytics and world-changing ideas.

Among them:?

• H.E. Justin Sun (founder of TRON)
• Alexander Chehade (general manager at MENA, Binance)
• Xinxi Wang (co-founder and director of Litecoin Foundation)
• Sergei Khitrov (founder of Jets.Capital and Listing.Help)
• Carl Runefelt (crypto entrepreneur, founder of CryptoJobs.com)
• Chris MMCrypto (cryptotrader, founder of MMCrypto)
• Tone Vays (trader, economic trends expert and analyst, ex-VP at JP Morgan Chase)
• Dr Sameer Al Ansari (CEO of Ras Al Khaimah DAO and ICC, UAE Government)??

Hurry up and buy your ticket now!

Previous events

ONTOCHAIN Summit – 22 June 2023

Our very own Dr?Kristina Livitckaia, R&D project manager and postdoc research associate at the?Information Technologies Institute (ITI)?-?Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH)?-?EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, was the keynote speaker at the ONTOCHAIN summit on the 22 June 2023.

A roundtable discussion took place immdiately after, with esteemed experts as speakers:

• Vlado Stankovski, ONTOCHAIN technical coordinator & Professor of Computer Science at the University of Ljubljana, moderator
• Fabrizio Sestini, DG CNECT, European Commission
• Jesuz Ruiz, Alastria Blockchain Association
• Joao Rodrigues Frade, European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI)
• Louis Martinez, HaDEA, European Commission
• Ramesh Ramadoss, IEEE Blockchain Technical Community
• Sebastian Becker, INATBA
• Kristina Livitckaia, EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum

5 Year Anniversary for PositiveBlockchain, Berlin, 1-3 June 2023

Global impact blockchain ecosystem members from?INATBA, the?IOTA Foundation,?EUBOF,?BC 100+,?Berlin Partner, BerChain, Lisk Center, Celo, the Climate Collective, ECOTA?and more came together during a series of events in Berlin between 1 and 3 June!

On the 1 June, a Blockchain for Social Good Berlin?meetup took place, this time focusing on?Web3?and?carbon?ecosystem development. The event, was organised in partnership with the?Climate Collective?and?ECOTA, and featured several startups’ talks and Q&As. Additionally, ECOTA and PB presented the initial findings from their ecosystem mapping exercise, which examined approximately 200 active projects in the space.

Several purpose-driven blockchain ecosystem players came together, including some of the most involved actors in the space: PB, EUBOF, INATBA, IOTA, Berlin Partner, BerChain, and University of Nicosia. During the event, there were presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. After the event, there was networking and a party!

On the 3 June, the PositiveBlockchain team brainstormed future activities and potential uses for a new open database that should be available soon, with a release date set for June.

The event video is available here!

May 24th?-?MIPRO Conference (hybrid) with the support and participation of the EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum

The MIPRO conference took place in Croatia?between 22 and 26 May. The EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum actively supported and promoted the event. There were three keynote speeches from our team on:?

?? ‘Blockchain Regulatory Status’, by?Charis Savvides

?? ‘Web3 and Metaverse’, by?Tadej Slapnik, and

?? ‘EU Blockchain Policy’, by?Tonia Damvakeraki.

The keynotes summed up the main initiatives and activities?undertaken by the?European Commission?in support of the?technology across sectors since 2018.

The report of the event is available here.

17 May – Turin ‘Blockchain & Europe’s Governance Transformation from Global to Local’

The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum was co-organiser of this hybrid event organised within the framework of the Blockchain for the UN Charter Values and the SDGs Initiative.

The objective of the event was to provide recommendations on how blockchain can contribute to multi-stakeholders and multi-level empowerment processes to accelerate the transformation and increase the resilience of Europe (as a European political community and the EU), Italy, its regions and cities, and empower local communities and citizens.

The event report is available here!

Latest and Upcoming EUBOF Publications

• Check out our most recent Trends Report, providing insights into the latest developments in the technological, market, and regulatory aspects of blockchain technology. The report is available for download here.
• Our previous Trends Report sheds light on the Ethereum Merge. The report provides the fundamentals for understanding the Ethereum platform and its consensus mechanism; it explains the facts behind the merge and then analyses energy consumption before and after the Merge, explaining the reasons and detailing potential drawbacks. In its third chapter, the report explores the impacts beyond energy consumption – looking into aspects of performance, scalability, and security.

Read or download the report and find out more!

?We have scheduled the following thematic reports to be published soon.

• ‘Traceability of products & product passports: a blockchain-based perspective’ – The aim of this report is to examine how the digital product passport (DPP) aims to create a system that can store and share all relevant information throughout a product’s life cycle. This would provide industry stakeholders, businesses, public authorities, and consumers with a better understanding of the materials used in the product as well as their embodied environmental impact.
• ‘The current state of interoperability between blockchain networks’ – The report will attempt to explain what blockchain interoperability is, how it works, and why it is important; it will also present the different approaches. In the report, we will further present the different types of interoperability, including sidechains, atomic SWAP protocols, and cross-chain automated market makers, token bridges, native payments, contract calls, and programmable token bridges. Finally, the report will discuss the future of blockchain interoperability.

Other upcoming reports to be published after the summer will include:

• Decentralised Social Media
• Blockchain for Intellectual Property Management
• Metaverse and the Need for Decentralised Technologies
• EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments – 2023

More updates coming soon!

Previous EUBOF Publications

The reports below were published recently.

• Report on PoW Energy Consumption in the E.U. Proof-of-work (PoW), a technique for achieving consensus in blockchain networks, has attracted the interest of regulators, policymakers, and the public because of its energy intensity. The case of Bitcoin in particular, which consumes electricity comparable to a small country, has also raised environmental concerns. The EU has been perceived by the public as a minor contributor to PoW activity and energy consumption, yet no studies exist to support or refute this assumption. In this report, we investigate the energy consumed by Bitcoin mining in the EU by looking at secondary resources. Using the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, we consolidate panel data on the Bitcoin hashrate (which measures the ‘intensity’ of PoW) for EU Member States between 2019 and 2022, as well as for the years 2020 and 2021. Specifically, we examine the mining activities of each Member State for each month, as well as across each year, and we present various comparisons. At the same time, we use the energy consumption databases of the open knowledge repository datacommons.org to connect hashrate at national and EU level to the respective level of electricity consumption.
• Report on Blockchain Applications in the Automotive Sector. Beyond the world of cryptocurrency, blockchain is finding its way into the automotive sector. Blockchain might serve innovations in communication and data transaction security, component origin, and location tracking, and opens up access to an entirely new world of products and services. However, its use in the automotive industry is still at an early stage, and there is a long journey to where and how the technology can be used best. This report focuses on the research regarding the particular market characteristics and needs, the potential role of blockchain in the automotive industry, and the positioning of use cases.
• Report on Smart Contracts. A smart contract is an event-driven programme that runs on a decentralised, distributed shared and replicated ledger, which can take custody and instruct the transfer of assets on that ledger. In this report, we examine concepts and definitions, the mechanisms behind a smart contract, and use cases. The report examines both benefits and vulnerabilities and reviews the legal considerations and paradigms from regulations across Europe.
• Report on Blockchain and Transparency in the Supply Chains. The supply chain is a complex sector, with implications for everyday life, and applies to a range of products. Generally, the supply chain is an environment where multiple stakeholders coordinate in order to bring products to consumers, and it is not a stable environment. Philosophies change to include newly found requirements and needs, as in the case of the shift from ‘just in time’ to ‘just in case’.
• Report on the Metaverse. The term ‘metaverse’ has recently attracted the interest of businesspeople and regulators with its reputed transformative potential. As we will demonstrate, defining the metaverse is challenging – many have attempted to describe it, with varying degrees of success. Above all, the metaverse is currently an aspiration shaped by subjective experiences and desires. However, this does not mean that tangible characteristics cannot be attributed to it, nor that it lacks a substantial impact. The purpose of this report is to provide a grounded understanding of the metaverse and its potential. At the same time, given that the metaverse is still evolving, we hope to point in the direction providing the most societal benefits and warn of potential roadblocks.
• Report on the EU Blockchain Ecosystem Development, version 2022. The EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum?has published its most recent report capturing the current state of technological, market, and regulatory developments in each of the 27 EU Member States, plus Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The report provides country-level factsheets summarising the state of affairs in each country.
• Report on Decentralised Finance (DeFI): the aim of this report is to define and present the main principles of DeFi. It also gives details about the size of the DeFi market and the concepts of decentralised lending and borrowing, as well as decentralised exchanges and other notable DeFi concepts.
• Report on Blockchain Applications in the Energy Sector: the report provides an overview of blockchain technology in the energy sector. On the basis of interviews with experts, it also examines standardisation activities, use cases in the sector, the status of R&D and innovation, and regulatory challenges and barriers, as well as insights directly from the industry. It also provides policy and regulatory recommendations for the future development of blockchain applications in the energy sector.
• June Trends Report: the report includes latest trends and developments in blockchain, examining markets, technological developments, and updates on the global legal and regulatory framework.

Other Publications

The European blockchain skills strategy builds on over one?year of extensive research carried out by the CHAISE partnership into the blockchain labour market and the supply and demand for blockchain skills, as well as on numerous consultations with key European stakeholders.

Led by CHAISE partner INATBA, the strategy sums up the main results of the analysis and formulates a strategy and action plan to tackle the blockchain skills shortage in Europe, so as to keep Europe at the forefront of blockchain innovation.

You can read the strategy here!

Are you interested in finding out more about blockchain market characteristics? Read the CHAISE project report titled Study on blockchain labour market characteristics and check out the following:

• Study on skills mismatches in the blockchain sector
• Registry of blockchain educational and training offerings
• Registry of blockchain online job vacancies

Map of Blockchain Education and Training Initiatives

We are proud to present our new website feature, a map of existing blockchain training and educational initiatives in Europe and the rest of the world!

?We invite all organisations offering such training or educational programmes to provide information about their initiatives by completing a?simple online form. All entries will be reviewed by our team in terms of relevance and completeness of information and will then be made available on the?map.

Users will be able to find training and education opportunities on the basis of specific criteria, including country, language, type of courses offered, type of certification, etc.

For more information visit our website.

Blockchain Initiatives and Projects on a Map

Are you aware of any blockchain initiatives or projects in your country? Are you organising an initiative or project related to blockchain?

?

If so, we want to know about it! To put your project on the map, simply fill in this form. Initiatives include start-ups, not-for-profit organisations, academic research, open-source projects, consortium, government or corporate initiatives, foundations and more.?

For more information visit our website.