European Union to Invest €500,000 to Develop Blockchain Expertise

The EU's European Parliament has recently mandated the European Commission to implement a pilot project in order to build up technical expertise and regulatory capacity for Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term technology. The European Commission in response announced that it intends to launch a call for tender for a service contract to set up an 'EU Blockchain Observatory', with an estimated budget of €500,000 over a period of 2 years.

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The EC wants the new body to consist of both an observatory and a forum to gather opinions and to voice concerns around blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). It will have the goal of becoming an EU expertise Hub Hub A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method Read this Term to discuss forward-looking topics on blockchain and develop use cases of interest at EU level.

The purpose will be to inform and assist the European Commission in understanding what role – if any - European public authorities should play to encourage the development and adoption of these technologies and to formulate related policy recommendations.

The observatory is expected to provide an up to date overview of relevant initiatives relying on the technology around the world and to follow up closely on the developments and the related challenges and opportunities for European industry, citizens and governments.

It will also develop expertise on topics such as infrastructure, governance and validation mechanisms, smart contracts, regulatory and legal challenges, interoperability and standards, build and animate a platform for the European blockchain community and explore possible use cases with a value added at the EU level.