A renewed approach
Distributed Ledger Technologies such as blockchain hold potential for major improvements in the way our businesses, governments, and societies work. However, important questions are yet to be answered to fully unlock the transformative power of these nascent technologies.
The European Blockchain Observatory and Forum brings together the community to pool knowledge, form consensus and thus facilitate the development and uptake of blockchain applications in Europe.
We aim to expand and strengthen the activities of the Observatory and Forum in the frame of its second instalment. We are furthermore responsible for conducting regular analysis of the blockchain landscape in order to identify relevant initiatives and trends as well as skills gaps. We also contribute to the community building dimension by organising workshops and identifying opportunities for collaboration with other initiatives.
Blockchain
Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) and cryptocurrencies
Digital Single Market
Digital transformation and the EU Digital Single Market
Skills
Skills gap analysis and resource mapping
Data analytics
Crowdsourcing and big data analytics
Policy
Stakeholder engagement, data and analysis, policy recommendations
Communication
Workshops and events, community building
A single project for all the needs
To realise the full potential of blockchain, there are a number of things that are required. The first step is to understand the blockchain market, which initiatives, companies, projects, institutions, etc. are out there and how they are evolving. There is also a need to understand the wider trends in the area of blockchain, where are the technologies being deployed and how. It is equally important to understand whether Europe is ready to play a leading role in blockchain in the future, so there is a need for an analysis of the skills gap as well as to gain an understanding of what educational resources and opportunities are out there. Furthermore, there may be a need to supplement these educational resources. There is a need to engage with stakeholders, not only to understand their needs in terms of skills, but also other enabling factors where policy-makers can provide support through various policy-measures. There is a general need for knowledge sharing.
The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum aims to provide all of this under the renewed project. We update and expand on what was already there as a starting point. We are working closely with industry stakeholders, experts, international initiatives and institutions as well as the European Commission to make this happen.
7
PARTNERS
30
MONTHS
900+
INITIATIVES
