European blockchain sandbox : best practices report; 2nd cohort : abstract and executive summary

Bird & Bird, its consultancy arm OXYGY and other consortium partners have been commissioned by the European Commission to set up and operate the European Blockchain Sandbox, providing a framework for regulators, supervising authorities and blockchain innovators to engage in a cross-border regulatory dialogue, identify obstacles from a legal & regulatory perspective in a safe and confidential environment, and thus increase legal certainty for innovative decentralized technology solutions, including blockchain. The initiative brings together regulators/authorities and innovators across industry sectors, allowing regulators and authorities to enhance their knowledge of cutting edge blockchain technologies and allowing innovators to enhance their understanding of relevant laws and regulations. The initiative annually supports 20 projects and has started in 2023. The sandbox is open to use cases based on any blockchain infrastructure. Following the successful completion of the 1st round of dialogues and the publication of the 1st cohort best practices report in June 2024, the dialogues for the 2nd cohort took place from September 2024 until March 2025. The 2nd round of dialogues covered additional regulatory areas and topics, many of which were identified for further dialogue at the end of the 1st round. The lessons learned, best practices and recommendations which are relevant for the wider community are presented in this Best practices report, 2nd cohort.