The European Commission has launched a new regulatory sandbox for innovative use cases involving Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). The sandbox is funded by the Digital Europe Programme and will run from 2023 to 2026.

It was designed to support 20 projects each year, including public sector use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure, with projects being chosen based on calls for expression of interest. Furthermore, the most innovative regulator that takes part in the sandbox will receive an annual prize. The sandbox will be facilitated by a syndicate led by Bird & Bird and its consulting arm OXYGY with support from WBNoDE and web designers of Spindox.

As for the selection process, a panel of independent academic experts will oversee it. The primary objective of the European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox is to support the cross-border dialogue with and between regulators and supervisors, and between companies or public authorities. The sandbox will also enable supervisors to improve their knowledge of DLT-related technologies, and learned lessons will be shared between participating regulators, thus allowing the Commission to identify best practices.

The European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox will work with other relevant sandboxing frameworks such as the EU Digital Finance Platform. The Sandbox is open to companies from all industry sectors and public entities for projects that are already close to market or at an early operational stage. These projects should include the use of DLT, among other technologies.

Priority will be given to use cases chosen for deployment between public authorities in the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure but up to 20 use cases with a cross-border dimension will be able to participate as well every year. The utility of Distributed Ledger Technologies According to digital-strategy. ec.

europa. eu, Distributed Ledger Technologies can support regulatory technologies and aid public authorities in their fight against fraud in global supply chains and protect verifiable credentials against counterfeiting. Non-personal data can be exchanged by companies to train algorithms or to create unique digital replicas they buy, sell or insure in the mobility, energy and manufacturing sectors.

Moreover, financial actors are expected to utilise DLT with the goal of minimising the cost of trading securities. The same source reveals that, in order to improve legal support of Europe’s ambition for digital leadership, there is a need for an improved dialogue between regulators and innovators. The European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox solves this requirement by providing a trusted environment in which regulators and providers of DLT technologies can interact with each other.

.