Newsletter February 2022

Official Newsletter of the European Union Blockchain Observatory & Forum

We are pleased to present you with our monthly update on the activities of the European Union Blockchain Observatory & Forum.

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

Upcoming

Our team is currently  working on

• A thematic report focused on Blockchain applications in the Energy Sector. This report, expected to be published in March 2022, covers an overview of blockchain technology in the energy sector, examining standardization activities, use cases in the sector, status of R&D and innovation, regulatory challenges and barriers as well as insights directly from the industry based on interviews with experts. The report provides policy and regulatory recommendations for the future development of blockchain applications in the energy sector.
• A thematic report focused on Decentralised Finance (DeFi). The report is aimed to provide an overview of key definitions and DeFi fundamentals, while it provides details about the DeFi market size, the concepts of Decentralised Lending and Borrowing as well as Decentralised Exchanges and other notable DeFi Concepts. This report will be published by the end of March 2022.
• The revision of the thematic report studying the latest developments of the EU Blockchain Ecosystem, covering 31 countries in Europe. This report will aim to provide insights on the latest trends and developments, in terms of regulations, education and training initiatives, and industry. This report is expected to be published in April 2022.

Latest Publications

In February the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum published its long awaited thematic report focused on Blockchain applications in the healthcare sector. The report covers challenges in the healthcare industry, examines regulatory, privacy and ethical implications and presents blockchain applications for healthcare data storage and transparency, for the pharmaceutical and healthcare supply chain. The report includes a dedicated chapter focuses on the role of blockchain applications for COVID-19 pandemic management while experts’ interviews are also included to support our teams’ research findings.

The report is available for reading and downloading here!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Upcoming Events

Meeting with International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications to facilitate international collaboration with EaP countries

On 28 February, the EU4Digital Facility will hold a virtual consultation session to support Eastern Partnership (EaP) stakeholders joining the EU network, the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) and the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum.

The goal of this event is the integration of EaP blockchain associations, policy makers specialising in blockchain technology and industry players with the community of thought-leaders and other EU organisations working with INATBA that could foster a positive change in the regulation and development of the blockchain ecosystem in the Eastern partner countries.

The event will invite participants to learn about the opportunities provided by INATBA, experiences of members of the association acting within working groups on different topics, and how to initiate practical networking and collaboration through INATBA’s partnerships with leading standard-setting organisations and global initiatives.

The event will be opened by Paolo Campegiani, Member of the Board of Directors of INATBA and consist of the following themes: 

• Presentation of the EU Blockchain strategy
• Introduction of INATBA, its services and potential opportunities to collaborate
• INATBA’s members experience sharing 

Finally, during the Q&A session, participants will have a chance to ask questions and learn about further steps for collaborating and becoming a member.

The detailed agenda can be found here.

Registration is open until 25 February. Read more about the event here!

EUBOF Workshop on Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are simply programs stored on a blockchain that run when predetermined conditions are met. They typically are used to automate the execution of an agreement so that all participants can be immediately certain of the outcome, without any intermediary’s involvement or time loss. They can also automate a workflow, triggering the next action when conditions are met.

Join our workshop on the 10th of March, to

• Define and explain the notion of smart contracts
• Define and explain how smart contracts work
• Discuss the benefits of smart contracts
• Discuss applications and use cases.

Register here to join the event online !

Our agenda will be made available soon.

Other Publications

Are you interested in finding out about the blockchain market characteristics? Read the Chaise project report Study on Blockchain labour market characteristics and check out  the

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

Map of Blockchain E​ducation and Training Initiatives

We are proud to present our new website functionality, offering a mapping of existing Blockchain training and educational initiaves in Europe and the world! We invite all organisations offering such training or educational programmes to provide information on 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 trace down relevant information on training and education offering based on specific criteria, including country, language, type of courses offered, type of certification, etc.

Visit our website and find out more!

Blockchain initiatives and projects in a map!

Are you aware of any blockchain related initiatives or projects in your country? Are you the owner of any initiative or project related to blockchain? Provide the relevant information by simply filling in this form and put your project in the map! Initiatives include: startups, non for profit organisations, academic research, open source projects, consortium, government or corporate initiatives, foundations and other. 

Find out more by visiting our website.

Forum

Inputs from the community have a major role in shaping these publications. Conversations are happening every day between the members of the eublockchain.mobilize.io community.

Register today! Become part of the conversation. Stay in the loop. Make connections and share knowledge, tips and ideas.