European Commission to launch International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications in April

The European Union has formed the “International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications” (or INATBA) as part of its efforts to support blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in overcoming barriers to scale.

At the EU Blockchain Industry Roundtable, which took place on 20 November 2018, the European Commission (EC) welcomed the announcement of the formation of the INATBA by several participants.

INATBA will serve as a global forum that will bring together industry, startups and SMEs, policy makers, regulators, civil society and standard setting bodies. The EC said:

“The new association will work closely with the European Commission and with Member States grouped within the European Blockchain Partnership in supporting interoperability, developing specifications, promoting standards and regulatory convergence to support the development and exploitation of innovative blockchain technologies.”

More than 70 partners around the world, including ConsenSys, IOTA, Unibright, RoyaltyRange, MADANA, STOKR, and others, have already joined the initiative.

The European Commission has listed the key focus areas of INATBA, which includes maintaining dialogues with regulatory authorities to contribute to the convergence of regulatory approaches to blockchain globally; promoting an open, transparent and inclusive global model of governance for blockchain; supporting the development and adoption of interoperability guidelines, specifications and global standards; and developing sector-specific guidelines and specifications for the development and acceleration of trusted sectorial blockchain and DLT applications in specific sectors

According to the online post, INATBA will be set up as an independent association in Brussels, Belgium and will operate on a global scale. It is expected to be officially launched on April 03, 2019.