The non-profit IOTA Foundation is among the seven projects chosen by the European Commission to partake in the first design phase of the European blockchain initiative.

A Milestone for IOTA

IOTA made the announcement in a blog post published on Tuesday (September 7, 2021). According to the blockchain project, IOTA would be involved in the initial stage of the pre-commercial procurement (PCP) process for the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI).

The EBSI is a network of nodes designed to improve cross-border services across Europe between enterprises, governments, and citizens, using blockchain technology. The goal is to boost trust and efficiency in EU transactions while also reducing Europe’s environmental impact and support the expansion of tech hubs and projects.

The call for tender for the PCP was initially announced in November 2020. Following the submission of 30 applications to the European Commission, IOTA was among the seven selected. IOTA, which operates a zero-cost policy for transactions, makes micropayments easy and could see broader adoption compared to other blockchain projects.

Commenting on the latest development was IOTA’s co-founder and CEO, Dominik Schiener, who said:

“We are very excited and honored to be a part of building Europe’s digital services infrastructure. Our goal is to establish IOTA as the foundational technology for Europe and the world. Our economies will be digitized and connected through green, feeless, and scalable DLTs.”

Europe’s Blockchain Initiative

EBSI was first announced in 208 after EU member states and the European Commission came together to form the European Blockchain Partnership (ECP). The ECP was focused on developing a blockchain infrastructure that would benefit businesses, public administrations, and citizens, leading to the creation of the EBSI.

So far, about €4 million ($4.7 million) has been invested in the project between 2019 and 2020. EBSI is a peer-to-peer network of interconnected nodes. These nodes are both run by the European Commission on a regional level and by the ECP on a national level.

Meanwhile, the design phase of the PCP has seven participants in the first stage and would last for three months. Following the completion of the initial stage, the four projects out of the earlier seven will be selected to be involved in the second phase, which is prototype development and lab testing.

The second stage will last for six months, after which only two contractors will be chosen to participate in the third and final phase.

IOTA, meanwhile, seems ready to take on the task, stating:

“The challenge of delivering a DLT infrastructure for the European single market is one that the IOTA Foundation is ready to take on. The potential to extend the infrastructure to states outside the 27 member states is also an exciting motivation for the Foundation.”