US House of Representatives has approved a bill to support blockchain technologies

Authority to promote the sector will be given to the Secretary of Commerce

21.05.2024 - 11:15

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2 min

What’s new? The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would give the Commerce Department the authority to promote the crypto sector. The bipartisan Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2023 directs the secretary of the department, a position currently held by Gina Raimondo, “to take actions necessary and appropriate to promote the competitiveness of the United States [in] blockchain technology or other distributed ledger technology.”

Material by Cointelegraph

What else is known? The bill was introduced by Delaware State Representative and Democratic Party member Lisa Blunt Rochester along with Republican Larry Bucshon of Indiana. It received the support of 334 representatives, with another 79 opposed. Earlier, the document was unanimously approved by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The bill calls for appointing the head of the Department of Commerce as the President’s primary advisor on blockchain and assigning him a number of responsibilities, including policy development, research, and promotion of the technology.

An advisory committee is to be established under the Secretary of the Department, with members drawn from government, industry, academia, and culture. The committee would be required to submit annual reports to Congress.

After approval by the House of Representatives, the document will go to the Senate for consideration. Along with it, representatives approved two other blockchain-related bills: on consumer safety technologies and on promoting sustainable supply chains. In total, there are about 50 bills affecting cryptocurrency at various stages of consideration in Congress.