Commission launches European Regulatory Sandbox for Blockchain

The European Commission has launched the European Regulatory Sandbox for Blockchain. Sandboxes are controlled environments where companies can test their products and services while engaging with relevant regulators.

This Sandbox will help provide legal certainty for decentralised technology solutions including blockchain by identifying obstacles to their deployment from a legal and regulatory perspective and providing legal advice, regulatory experience and guidance in a safe and confidential environment. It should also allow regulators and supervisors to enhance their knowledge of cutting-edge blockchain technologies and share best practices through dialogues.

Running from 2023 to 2026, the Sandbox will support 20 projects annually, including public sector use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) – a multi-country project under the Digital Decade supported by the Commission, all Member States, Norway and Liechtenstein. The first call will be open until 14 April 2023.

The Sandbox is supported by the Digital Europe Programme, the EU funding programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations. It will cooperate with other relevant frameworks, in particular the EU Digital Finance Platform and the Artificial Intelligence Sandboxes once established under the AI Act. For instance, blockchain use cases that have been onboarded through the European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox can then be connected with relevant financial supervisors through the EU Digital Finance Platform in pertinent use cases.