US: Legislators Introduce Bill to Find Common Definition of Blockchain Technology

Published at: Oct. 3, 2018

U.S. Reps. Doris Matsui and Brett Guthrie have recently proposed a bill dubbed the "Blockchain Promotional Act 2018" in the House of Representatives, according to an announcement on Matsui’s website Monday, Oct. 1.

The release notes that current definitions of blockchain technology in different draft bills differ. For this reason, the bill proposes that the U.S. Department of Commerce creates a working group formed both by federal officials and members of the blockchain industry to form a common definition of blockchain.

The working group will also consider recommendations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to study the potential impact of blockchain tech across the policy spectrum. The agencies will also consider opportunities for federal adoption of blockchain technology. Matsui further explained the main purpose of the bill:

"Blockchain technology could transform the global digital economy.  Opportunities to deploy blockchain technology ranges from greatly increased transparency, efficiencies and security in supply chains to more-opportunistically managing access to spectrum."

Reps. Matsui and Guthrie’s bill follows a slew of recent legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress. In September Rep. Tom Emmer announced he would introduce  three bills; the “Resolution Supporting Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology,” the “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act,” and the “Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act.”

The introduction of new blockchain and crypto legislation follows calls from lawmakers and industry experts for clarity and uniformity in crypto legislation. On Sept. 25, 45 representatives from major Wall Street firms and crypto companies took part in a “crypto round-table” to discuss Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and cryptocurrency regulations.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier this week, ‘Big Four’ audit and consulting firm Deloitte named regulatory uncertainty as one of the five major obstacles to the mass adoption of blockchain.

Other factors reportedly hindering adoption were time-consuming operations, lack of standardization, high costs and complexity of blockchain applications, in addition to the absence of collaboration between blockchain-related firms.

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