Governments and central banks provide funding for blockchain research

The government is showing increasing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) this week planning to offer $ 600,000 in funding to government-related distributed ledger startups , according to a recent news report.

US Department of Homeland Security funds blockchain research for ID services

A few years ago, cryptocurrency enthusiasts would never have thought that governments and traditional banks around the world would be interested in the technology that supports the Bitcoin network. Now the situation is different. Many large financial institutions and governments have invested heavily in blockchain. Last week , on June 7 , the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that they would provide funding to six companies engaged in blockchain protocol research.

Each company will receive $ 100,000 in funding from the Small Business Innovation Research ( SBIR ) program, which was established in 1982. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s statement on the project means that “ blockchain applications will be used in homeland security analysis, as well as for ID management and privacy protection. ”

One of the biggest winners in the history of blockchain startup fundraising is Blockcypher , which has raised $ 3.5 million from Blockchain Capital, Boost VC, Jesse Draper, AME Cloud Ventures , and is currently working with multinational financial institution Deloitte. The DHS project includes an " infrastructure deployment for blockchain applications " that also supports Ethereum applications.

Blockcypher attracted the DHS because its API (application programming interface) connects to various blockchains and provides “ services such as querying general information, recording various events on the blockchain, querying addresses between information and other resources . ” While recently joining the Ethereum blockchain, its service also supports the Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin networks.

Governments are bullish on the future of distributed ledgers

Governments have been paying attention to Bitcoin and blockchain technology lately, and it’s clear that they’re interested. On June 1 , the distributed ledger advocate gave a presentation on cryptocurrency solutions and blockchain to central bank governors from more than 90 different countries. Digital Commerce representatives included its founder and president Perianne Boring , who met with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen . According to press releases and various news publications, Yellen and her colleagues are very interested in financial technology.

As more and more countries around the world are interested in blockchain, governments are also rushing to join the blockchain research race. Government organizations are interested in many solutions that can provide it to fight crime, solve identity problems and currency problems.