Bird & Bird and OXYGY today announce together with the European Commission that applications are now open for the second cohort of the European Blockchain Sandbox. Applications for the second cohort will remain open until 25th March 2024 at 23:59 CET.
Bird & Bird and OXYGY together with the European Commission are encouraging companies (including start-ups and scale-ups) and public entities from across the EU/EEA with innovative blockchain use cases to participate and be at the forefront of this dialogue and mutual learning experience. In 2023, the first cohort of twenty use cases faced a competitive applications process, following which use cases representing every EU/EEA region were selected to participate. For more information about the use cases involved in the first cohort, click here.
The three-year initiative supports 20 projects annually, with the first cohort starting in 2023, and is open to use cases across the EU/EEA based on any blockchain infrastructure. Blockchain use cases will be 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 will be matched with national and EU regulators. Further information about the selection criteria and the application process can be found on the website. 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.
In addition to specialist legal and regulatory advice provided by Bird & Bird, blockchain companies participating in the sandbox will have the opportunity to discuss regulatory questions that are relevant for them in a safe and confidential environment with relevant regulators. Participating regulators and authorities will have the opportunity to enhance their understanding of innovative blockchain solutions, discuss regulatory issues in a cross-border setting with other regulators, and contribute to the development of best practices at the intersection of innovation and regulation.
The Best Practices Report for the first cohort in 2023 will be published in the coming weeks and will share the observations and lessons learned from the inaugural year of the European Blockchain Sandbox. Please keep an eye on the project website and social media for updates.
If you are interested in becoming a participant in the second cohort, please click here to apply and read the Application Terms which are available here.