[The EU will officially launch blockchain public services]
In 2018, EU member states launched the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) with the aim of developing blockchain-based public services.
Currently, there are 40 nodes on the continent and several use cases developed mainly related to verifiable credentials. The European Commission has now decided to formally establish a new legal entity, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC), to make it easier to share costs and manage the network.
EDIC will consist of nine members, including Belgium (host country), Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. Poland has applied to join and will become the tenth member if successful.
Although more blockchain-based public services will be developed in the future, the EU is currently focusing on verifiable credentials, including personal documents, products and legal entities.
Although there have been many consolidations since the creation of the EU in November 1993, there is still no Europe-wide way to verify educational certificates or official documents from companies/organisations. Likewise, counterfeit goods are still abundant, especially in the luxury goods industry. These EBSI applications can solve these problems and more.
At CoinGeek, we’ve been reporting for years that blockchain technology can be used for purposes far beyond currency transactions. Reducing counterfeits by tracking and tracing goods across global supply chains is a legitimate use for immutable public ledgers, and companies like Alpha Dapp are already making it easy to put educational credentials on the BSV blockchain.
Across all industries, including educational credentials, supply chains, and monetary systems, reducing fraud and loss benefits from scalable public blockchains. For example, the Trace App developed by IBM (NASDAQ: IBM) and Gate2Chain is one example of what a public utility blockchain can achieve.
I have always said that I am impressed by the EU's progress in blockchain technology. Although the EU is a large and cumbersome bureaucracy, progress in this industry is faster than in most parts of the world.
In addition to initiatives like the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), the EU has some of the most comprehensive blockchain and digital currency regulations in the world, called the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA).It has listed blockchain as a key industry in its Digital Decade Plan and has quickly begun exploring a digital euro and a European digital identity wallet.
While these initiatives will have supporters and detractors, it is undeniable that the EU is moving quickly on blockchain technology, digital assets and their potential applications. Combined with its AI bill, supercomputer-based AI factories and strong digital rights, the EU is likely to be a front-runner in these interconnected industries by the start of the next decade.
