Elected officials in Washington, D.C. often have difficulty finding areas to agree on. A new bipartisan partnership between two members of the House of Representatives have managed to overcome their differences to create the Blockchain Caucus.
Representatives Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado, and Arizona Republican David Schweikert launched the conference earlier this week to help push sound public policy for blockchain technologies and digital currencies.
Blockchain is best known as the technology that makes bitcoin transactions possible. Essentially, it is a digital ledger of transactions taking place. What makes blockchain so interesting is the fact that it distributes tasks across a network of computers rather than a central server, using cryptography to ensure the data is secured.
When someone wants to add information to a blockchain, the computers on the network run algorithms to confirm the blockchain’s history and validate the proposed addition to the chain.
Transactions run through blockchain don’t require the typical intermediary to confirm it, as it’s asking a network of devices—all with their own history of every transaction—to verify the transaction’s legitimacy. This allows transfer of information or currency to be completed in a matter of seconds.
Blockchain technologies also distribute the computational power required to complete the transaction, making it more affordable than many alternatives.
“Blockchain’s potential to reshape everything from the financial industry, to supply chains, to cybersecurity, to health care is something we should embrace,” Polis said in a statement, noting the caucus would soon hold policy briefings and meetings to help educate other members of Congress about the technology.
Perianne Boring, the founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, expressed her interest working with the caucus. “Key to unleashing the power of this technology is collaboration and engagement between the industry and policymakers,” she said.
In 2015 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission labeled Bitcoin as a commodity. The move forced unregistered bitcoin trading platforms to shut down and began setting standards for digital currencies. However, the blockchain technology behind those currencies has largely gone unexplored and unregulated by government entities.
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