European Commission Hosts Blockchain Workshop with Industry Focus

The European Commission, the body responsible for proposing EU-wide legislation, has completed the first workshop for its previously announced #Blockchain4EU project.

Launched on June 13, #Blockchain4EU aims to explore potential applications for blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) outside of financial services. Specifically, the workshop – part of an ongoing series that will run until February 2018 – sought to explore blockchain use cases and their relation to industrial transformations within the European Union.

The European Commission wrote that 34 people participated in the workshop, each selected from a pool of stakeholders as to provide a snapshot of the current blockchain ecosystem. Participants included technical experts; developers and scientists; social, economic and legal researchers; entrepreneurs and investors; business and labour representatives; and policy actors at local, national and EU levels.

All in all, it's the latest sign out of the European Commission that it is actively seeking ideas that could benefit from blockchain tech. In June, the commission completed a public consultation on finTech and DLT, and in April, funding was provided for a blockchain pilot.

European Commission image via Shutterstock