The EEA Authority to Operate Working Group is dedicated to describing how an Ethereum or Ethereum-based blockchain can achieve "Authority to Operate" from US government organisations, who generally require compliance with a range of standards published by NIST.

The Working Group is focused on analyzing potential gaps in compliance of Ethereum solutions, and determining a pathway for development, or agreement, to enable Ethereum solutions to achieve the necessary certification. The working group is responsible for developing technical standards to meet this challenge. Its work includes: a) creating a conceptual framework that enables sound reasoning about this topic, b) identifying salient technical and security challenges that inform the design space, and c) defining any necessary architecture and associated specifications to enable standardization and broad adoption.