European Commission - Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology

02/11/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 02/11/2026 06:59

The European Blockchain Sandbox releases the third cohort best practices report

The dialogues for the third cohort took place in the second half of 2025, and today's best practice report highlights the broad range of lessons learned, best practices and recommendations identified during the dialogues.

The best practices report was launched with a supporting public webinar on 11 February 2026, in which the Sandbox team shared an overview of the regulatory best practices identified in the third cohort, and answered questions from the audience about the report.

Also announced during the public webinar was the Most Innovative Regulator Award, awarded by a panel of independent academic experts, Professor Roman Beck (Bentley University, USA, formerly IT-University, Copenhagen), Professor Soulla Louca (University of Nicosia, Cyprus), and Professor Walter Blocher (Universities of Kassel). The honour is awarded to the following for their exceptional and innovative contributions during the third cohort dialogues:

  • BfDI (Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, die Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit)
  • CNMV (National Securities Market Commission, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores)
  • Bank of Spain (Banco de España)
  • KNB (Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries, Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie)
  • Office for Digital Innovation, Liechtenstein (Stabsstelle für Digitale Innovation)
  • ANSSI (French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems, Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information)
  • ARCEP (The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs, and Print Media Distribution in France, Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse)

The publication of the third cohort report marks a significant milestone for the European Blockchain Sandbox - the successful completion of productive dialogues with all 60 selected use cases. The regulatory areas identified across the three Sandbox cohorts are not only relevant for blockchain/DLT, but also for other innovative technologies which are often deployed in combination with blockchain/DLT solutions. A sincere thank you to all the use cases, regulators, authorities, and network partners who contributed to make the dialogues such a success.

The European Blockchain Sandbox has shown that the regulatory sandbox concept is a valuable approach for areas of new technology where there is a lack of legal certainty around evolving regulations and the interplay with new technologies. Exposure to real life use cases helps to build regulatory capacity in digital domains. By developing an ecosystem of use cases, national authorities, and EU legislators/regulators, a regulatory sandbox strengthens the understanding of the interplay between different regulatory areas, and helps enhance legal certainty in support of innovation.

Read more information about the European Blockchain Sandbox project, as well as the full report and abstract (in English).

European Commission - Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology published this content on February 11, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on February 11, 2026 at 12:59 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]