Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., recently introduced legislation that would mandate an exhaustive federal government-led examination of the adoption and impacts of blockchain in the U.S. and abroad.
Introduced in a wider legislative package of 15 emerging tech-focused bills from Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Advancing Blockchain Act directs the Federal Trade Commission and the Commerce Secretary to collaboratively investigate the decentralized, distributed ledger technology over the next two years, and subsequently provide a range of recommendations to Congress to help boost American implementations.
“Blockchain technology can be used for cryptocurrency, but it also has many other potential applications,” Guthrie said in a statement. “The Advancing Blockchain Act will allow us to explore these uses to improve our technology.”
The collection of bills Guthrie’s act accompanies was produced to help “ensure American leadership in emerging technology to beat China and other challenges to global competitiveness,” according to an announcement regarding their release. Included in the package are bills centered on the internet of things, gig economy, tech startups, 3D printing, facial recognition, unmanned delivery services, and more. It also incorporates the Advancing Quantum Computing Act, which like Guthrie’s blockchain bill, also calls for a comprehensive probe into a specific advanced technology and its potential.
Good move. To read more, click here.