Blockchain at state: a big conference in Washington with high-ranking officials

Yesterday (for America, it’s still “today”), on 10th of October 2017, a big blockchain forum was held, called Blockchain@State.

Deputy Secretary of State was the one opening the event, and in his speech, he highlighted the most impressive examples of blockchain working in the governments of Estonia, Georgia, UAE, Singapore and even the United Nations (they are working to create blockchain pilot projects that help vulnerable populations, such as refugees).

“It is, therefore, essential that we better understand this cutting-edge technology, as it becomes more ubiquitous in our economy,” Mr. Sullivan stressed.

David Schweikert, a Congressman, told that blockchain is going to be a revolution and the American state actors have to adapt to the new reality.

There were many corporate representatives, including those companies our readers might already remember from previous news. Microsoft talked about its Azure platform, IBM has explained how blockchain is supposed to help in food supplies. The CEO of BanqApp told about the usability of the blockchain tech in simple examples from his clients’ issues.

Jaime Smith of the Bitfury Group, however, reminded that technology is not always a panacea, but it can be a great tool. Anyway, all state representatives have demonstrated a full support to the blockchain development, although mostly for state improvement needs – if cryptocurrency was mentioned during those two hours of talks, there were no breakthrough statements.

A full recording of the event is available here.