• BlockStand has previously launched a questionnaire to identify the stakeholders’ needs and opportunities in blockchain standardisation.
  • Inputs were gathered from Blockstand’s main target groups: small and medium entreprises (SMEs), members of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) and the Research & Innovation communities.
  • The findings of the questionnaire will feed into a wider report on standardisation gaps and recommendations.

At the end of February, Blockstand closed its questionnaire to identify blockhain standardisation needs and recommendations. The questionnaire was aimed at target stakeholder groups, namely SMEs and European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) and Research & Innovation stakeholders, with the goal of identifying needs, gaps, recommendations and barriers to a more widespread use of blockchain technology and related standards.

The questionnaire received close to 50 thorough and insightful responses from users and providers of blockchain technology, with a balanced and varied representation of the three main stakeholder communities. While a more complete analysis of the results of the questionnaire is still under way, some preliminary findings can already be highlighted.

For what concerns SMEs for instance, “Enhanced security and transparency” was by far the primary goal identified by SMEs in explaining their use of blockchain technology, followed by “Smart contracts automation”. On the other hand, in terms of barriers to the use of blockchain, “Lack of skilled personnel” was highlighted as the main issue.

In terms of most popular blockchain applications identified by the questionnaire “Personal identity security” and “Smart Contracts” led the way, being identified as of primary interest by almost two-thirds of the respondents.

The questionnaire also put the spotlight on the high level of interest (and the good degree of participation) in standardisation efforts linked to blockchain technology, with over 75% of respondents indicating at least “good” knowledge of relevant standardisation efforts and almost half of the respondents directly participating in blockchain standardisation work at national, European or international level.

The findings of the questionnaire will feed into a report on standardisation gaps and recommendations that will be among the main deliverables of the BlockStand project.