Historic First Edition of INATBA Awards Honours Blockchain Excellence with Groundbreaking NFT Awards

February 2, 2023

Brussels, February 2, 2023 – The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) turned heads at the recent INATBA Awards Gala, taking place on January 31, 2023, in the heart of Brussels. It honoured the Top Contributors, Special Awards recipients, and Most Exciting Projects of 2023. INATBA made history by presenting the awards using cutting-edge Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), offering a secure and unique way of recognising and celebrating achievements, and adding a new level of prestige to awards. The awards ceremony was hosted by Steven Decraene, Journalist at VRT News, who served as the Master of Ceremony for the evening.

The Top Contributors honoured were:

  • Education Working Group Top Contributor – Katarina Adam (HTW Berlin, member of the Academic Advisory Body)
  • Finance Working Group Top Contributor – Max Bernt (Blockpit)
  • Identity Working Group Top Contributor – Maarten Boender (Sphereon)
  • Privacy Working Group Top Contributor – Giacomo Fedele (DNV)
  • Social Impact and Sustainability Working Group Top Contributor – Laura Kajtazi (IOTA Foundation)
  • Standardisation Committee Top Contributor – Monique Bachner (thinkBLOCKtank)

The recipients of the Special Awards by the Board of Directors were:

  • Special Award by the Board of Directors to the Governmental Advisory Body – Government of Canada, European Commission, Abu Dhabi Global Market
  • Special Award by the Board of Directors to the Academic Advisory Body – Dr. Milly Perry (Chamber of Information Technology, Israel), Prof. Dr. Volker Skwarek (Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany)
  • Special Award by the Board of Directors to the Leadership of the Working Groups – Chiara Ventura (Blockchain Italia), Wim Stalmans (The Blockchain Academy), Dimitrios Psarrakis (XReg Consulting), Jean-Christophe Mathonet (FeenPOP), Daniel Bachenheimer (Accenture), Kai Wagner (Jolocom), Paola Heudebert (Archipels), Ash Costello (TechGDPR), Joerg Walden (iPoint-systems), Mariana de la Roche (IOTA Foundation), Gilbert Verdian (Quant Network), Ismael Arribas (Kunfud).

The Most Exciting Projects of 2023 honoured were:

  • Award for the Most Exciting Project of 2023 in ReFi – EthicHub by EthicHub, Spain
  • Award for the Most Exciting Project of 2023 in DeFi – Folks Finance by Folks Finance, Italy
  • Award for the Most Exciting Project of 2023 in Social Innovation – LACChain by the Innovation Lab of the Inter-American Development Bank, Multilateral Organisation
  • Award for the Most Exciting Project of 2023 in Education – Meta 511 by University of Nicosia, Cyprus
  • Award for the Most Exciting Project of 2023 in Corporate Innovation – Smart Refund by Trenitalia & Trakti, Italy

INATBA utilised the Bitbond platform and a Blockchain.com self-hosted wallet to create the NFTs and delegate them as awards. The design of each NFT was managed internally. 

“We are thrilled to recognise these exceptional projects and contributions with NFT awards that truly embody the impact they are having on the future of blockchain,” stated Ricardo Simões, Executive Director of INATBA. “This NFT award system is a testament to our unwavering commitment to promoting the responsible development and adoption of blockchain and decentralised technologies.”

The integration of NFTs into the INATBA Award system marks the beginning of an exciting journey as the tremendous potential of this game-changing technology is fully utilised in the years to come.

The evening also featured a panel discussion on the topic Decentralisation: Risks and Opportunities, Public and Private Sector Perspectives. The discussion was attended by a distinguished group of guests, including Benedetto Biondi of Folks Finance, Ondrej Kovarik of the European Parliament, Nicolas Louvet of Coinhouse, Pierre Marro of DG CNECT, Joachim Schwerin of DG GROW, and Koen Vingerhoets of Fujitsu.

Press Contact

pr@inatba.org

About INATBA

Launched in 2019 by the European Commission, INATBA – International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications, is a highly influential Association in advocating for Blockchain and DLT adoption in Europe and globally. INATBA is mainly known for its credibility with regulatory authorities and policymakers and is appraised for its contributions to Markets in Crypto Asset Regulation (MICA), Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFOR), electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services (eIDAS), CHAISE Project, EU Pact for Skills, Academic & Governmental Advisory Bodies, and its passionate diverse global community of CEOs, CTOs, Heads of Policy, Public/Institutional Relations, Legal, Marketing & BizDev, Developers, Policymakers. To learn more, visit www.inatba.org.

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