News

New Thematic Report

Are you interested in learning about the current state of #blockchain adoption in the European Union?

The EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum has published the 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 (UK).

The report provides country-level 'factsheets' summarising the state of affairs in each country.

It's evident from the report that the blockchain's ecosystem growth precedes regulatory action. In other words, regulation is usually introduced as a response to growing demand from the private sector. Cheers to all creators, entrepreneurs, academicians, students, enthusiasts and consultants – who keep building and advancing the European blockchain ecosystem!

Read and download the report here!

New Trend Report

Just published! September's Trends Report focuses on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and covers the following issues:

Definitions and examples of CBDCs and how they work.
The competitive landscape of CBDCs.
The global state of CBDCs.
Examples of CBDCs across the globe.
Relevant resources for those interested to explore further.

The report is available for reading and downloading here!

Upcoming EUBOF Reports

The following reports are slated for publication in September.

A thematic report examining the challenges and opportunities of the Metaverse.
A thematic report on transparent and sustainable supply chains.

Upcoming Conferences/Events

SAVE THE DATE: EUBOF EVENT, 20 October 2022, Nicosia - Cyprus

The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum is pleased to announce its second hybrid event, which will be held on 20 October and hosted at the University of Nicosia, in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Stay tuned for the event agenda and list of esteemed panellists!

More information about the event:

Event location address: UNESCO Amphitheatre / University of Nicosia, 46 Makedonitissis Avenue, Engomi, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus. Get Directions.

Attendance is free of charge but registration is required. The registration form will be published shortly.
Registration deadline: 10/10/2022
General information and updates will be made available on the EUBOF website

WORLD FUTURE VERSE CONFERENCE 2022

The World Future Verse Conference, hosted by Technology Park Ljubljana, is aimed at the brightest and most curious minds of our time. By bringing together leaders and creative visionaries from different industries, fostering their curiosity and gathering them in one space, we hope to ignite the light of innovation in each and every one of the participants.

More than 1 200 participants from around the world are expected. The World Future Verse Conference brings together great thinkers from the tech industry and summons talented content creators from all fields.

At the conference venue, the creators of the programme promise a unique 'Metaverse Theater' that will immerse visitors in the fusion of a virtual open space where they can engage in the development of personal potential, digital skills and learning about the most advanced technologies. They will invite you into a virtual time machine and send you to the near future. Through the presentation of new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, you will learn the concepts of the metaverse, NFTs and blockchain and discover the best version of yourself by choosing different avatars.

During the conference days, examples of best practices in the use of future technologies in business and industry will also be presented in the Bled Festival Hall. Visitors will have the opportunity to test and develop ideas in the field of metaverse and virtual and augmented reality technologies. Opportunities for support and vouchers for companies and start-ups operating in the metaverse will also be presented: XR and NFT.

Conference programme and more information

For more information about the conference programme, speakers and registration, please visit: https://wfvconf.com/

Democracy4All will take place on 10 and 11 November, both in La Llotja de Mar, Barcelona, and online

The international event Democracy4All (D4A), which has been held annually since 2019, returns to Barcelona for its fourth edition in a hybrid format. Following the previous edition's success using this model, the event will once again offer both an online and on-site experience. D4A is organised by the CBCat (Blockchain Centre of Catalonia), which is part of Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce, and has the support of the Catalan Government.

Democracy4All's orientation makes it a unique event in the world because it focuses on the use of blockchain as an instrument of democratic improvement in terms of social, corporate and individual governance. It offers Catalonia the opportunity to host the most important international conclave for political actors and institutions everywhere, and it contributes to speeding up the dialogue between government bodies and new technologies.

Democracy4All brings together talent, experts and policymakers to share and discuss the latest advances in technology and regulation. The backbone of the event relies on the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance set by the Council of Europe. These encapsulate fundamental values defining a common vision of democratic governance in Europe (see the 12 Principles here). Last year's event was attended by top-level dignitaries from the fields of technology and politics such as John McAffee, founder of McAffee, John Denton, Secretary General of the ICC, Helen Köpman, acting Head of Unit Digital Innovation and Blockchain at the European Commission, Toomas Hendrik, former President of Estonia or Jordi Puigneró, Vice President of the Catalan Government. The list of speakers at this year's D4A will be announced shortly by the organisation.

Upcoming Workshops/Webinars

Blockchain for cross-border payments – Connecting the fragmented world – 5 October

Blockchain is said to be a game-changer for cross-border payments, making the entire process simpler, reducing costs and time required for transactions. The event intends to engage the audience on the most essential facts about utilising blockchain for cross-border payments, showcasing some of the latest use cases, and discussing the opportunities and challenges.

Please register for the event here.

Climate Action & Sustainability: Workshop on Blockchain Use Cases, 4 October 2022

EUBOF, in collaboration with the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA), is co-organising a virtual workshop on Climate Action and Sustainability, aimed at a deep dive into relevant use cases.

Blockchain, in combination with other technologies, can be a powerful tool to support several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the help of ecosystem players, this workshop intends to examine the potential for blockchain/DLT to support UN SDGs. The workshop will use poll questions and discussion in order to particularly identify:

a) use cases that are nice to have but do not provide much improvement;

b) when blockchain significantly improves the use case, especially in terms of cost and effectivity, but the use case is still doable with the absence of blockchain/DLT;

c) use cases where you cannot achieve the same result without blockchain/DLT.

Past Events

Using blockchain to mitigate financial crime

This event was organised by INATBA on 18 August. It aimed to discuss how blockchain can turn the tide on financial crime compliance. It also walked through available tools and technologies that can actually help mitigate financial crimes.

Blockchain start-ups, innovation hubs and SMMEs in European countries

On 28 July, a workshop on blockchain start-ups, innovation hubs and SMMEs in European countries was organised by the Governmental Advisory Body of INATBA. The focus was on Blockchain Policies & Innovation Ecosystems, which aimed to identify the needs of policymakers (with a focus on Africa) in the development of national blockchain policies for providing an enabling environment for the growth of local innovation ecosystems, as well as providing an appropriate regulatory framework ensuring that citizens enjoy data protection and privacy.

Blockchain: a key enabler to innovation in Europe and the world

Our first hybrid event since 2020, 'Blockchain: a key enabler to innovation in Europe and the world' took place in Brussels, on 8 July 2022

Our team presented the latest updates on the EU blockchain landscape, the latest trends like the Metaverse, Web3.0 and NFTs, and energy efficiency of blockchain applications, as well as the opportunity to directly liaise with policymakers, regulators, start-up entrepreneurs, NGOs, academics and researchers in the blockchain domain.

A big thank you to all our fantastic speakers, panellists and moderators: Eva A. Kaili, Pierre Marro, Lambis Dionysopoulos, Soulla Louca, Nena Dokuzov, Marc Taverner, Jusha Ellul, Christian Hauschildt, Daniel Bachenheimer, Kai Wagner, Paola Heudebert, Maya Madrid, Nikolaos Kostopoulos, Jeff Bandman, Dr Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes, Ioannis Revolidis, Leonardo Calini, Alex de Vries, Jens Strüker and Ioannis Vlachos!

A big thank you to our wonderful team for making this happen: Marianna Charalambous, Aliki Ntouzgou, Vasileios Koukis, Nasos Grigoratos, Coulouris Nicolaos, Zoran Cuk and Natalia Bimpiza.

Many thanks to DG CNECT for hosting the event and a special thanks to Ms Marie Markosian and Ms Barbora Greplova for their tireless support!

We are pleased to inform you that the link to the streamed session is now available in case you missed it!

1. workshop on blockchain applications in the energy sector

The workshop took place on 29 June. It aimed to discuss blockchain applications in the energy sector. Ioannis Vlachos presented the latest report published by the Observatory, which not only focuses on the energy sector but also explores the EU action plan for the digitalisation of energy.

The following topics were addressed by the panel of invited experts:

Standardisation activities of DLT in the energy sector.
From Theory to Practice: Tales from the industry.
Status of R&D Innovation in Europe.

The recording of the session is available here and the summary report will be published soon.

EUBOF workshop on the metaverse in association with INATBA

On 24 May, a workshop titled 'Metaverse – Why all the Hype?' was held virtually to discuss the metaverse and the opportunities and threats arising within this new digital space from academic and industry perspectives.

The event included presentations from academia and industry as well as an expert panel.

The report of the event is available here!

Previous EUBOF Publications

In June, EUBOF published the following reports:

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 DeFi market size 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. Based on interviews with experts, the report also examines the 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 legal and regulatory framework globally.

Publications

The European Blockchain Skills Strategy builds on over 1 year of extensive research carried out by the CHAISE partnership, analysing the blockchain labour market and the supply and demand of 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!

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:

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 based on specific criteria, including country, language, type of courses offered, type of certification, etc.

For more information visit our website.

Initiatives and Projects in 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.