On November 25th, partners of Block.IS and BlockStart blockchain startup acceleration programmes are organising a blockchain regulation and policy workshop “How European policy initiatives can enable the future of blockchain”. The goal is to discuss the current state of the regulatory landscape in Europe, identifying the best practices and moments for advancement and providing input into removing regulatory barriers for SMEs to adopt DLT and developing a compelling legal framework.
Blockchain and related technologies have the potential to fundamentally transform a wide range of industries and the regulatory framework of such technology should be understood as a ‘living strategy’. It must be constantly reviewed to ensure that it grows with and encourages innovation within different industries.
The workshop is aimed to bring together startups and SMEs developing and adopting blockchain solutions and main players in the blockchain policy landscape: policymakers, researchers, consultants. To cover these topics, the experts from EU Commission, research institutions and organizations representing startups will share their views and will aim to identify the most relevant directions for policy development.
Christian Hauschildt, Managing Director and Head of Public Sector & Business Services at White Research will present the findings of the EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments report on the EU Blockchain Ecosystem. This is the first thematic report prepared by the new team leading the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, aiming to present the latest updates and developments, as well as discuss the future of blockchain in Europe.
Dr. Tjerk Timan, a scientist at TNO, an independent research organisation connecting people and knowledge to create innovations, will bring to the discussion his academic and professional experience in ethical, legal, social and organizational impact assessment of novel ICTs.
Margherita Leder, Board Member at Global Blockchain Association INATBA, will join the discussion and share her insights from her work at the Education Working Group that develops and structures educational programs. These programs raise awareness among current and future decision-makers about the possible applications and limitations of blockchain technology. She also is involved in the Digital SME Taskforce Blockchain & DLT. One of the goals of this task force is to support SMEs in conversations with regulators.
Fiona Delaney is CEO and founder of tech start-up Origin Chain Network and Chair at Blockchain Ireland Startups Ecosystem. Origin Chain Network is recognised as “one to watch” in European technical innovation, winning the EU Innovation Award in 2020 for contributions to the field of agriculture and technology. Co-author of numerous papers on blockchain, DLT and sustainable food, Delaney has contributed to numerous standards in the field of distributed technologies and was recently appointed Co-Chair of EUOS Standards Observatory Blockchain WG where her strong commitment to developing open-source resources including open data, open standards and open software prevails.
The panel of speakers will be joined by Dr. Joachim Schwerin, who is a Principal Economist in the unit responsible for the Digital Transformation of Industry within the Directorate-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission. He is responsible for developing the policy approach of DG GROW towards the Token Economy and Distributed-Ledger Technologies as well as their applications for industry and SMEs.
Join the discussion on the 25th of November at 10 AM CET, in Nhow Brussels Bloom, Rue Royale – Koningsstraat 250, Brussels. Participation at the Policy Workshop is free of charge, but registration (until November 20th, 5 PM CET) is compulsory.
REGISTER NOW & don’t miss a chance to discuss policies influencing the European blockchain ecosystem! The workshop is envisaged as an integral part of the Cluster Mission Brussels event.
