Another big name! The US State Department recommends promoting the development of blockchain and distributed ledgers

Recently, the U.S. State Department launched the “American Innovation Roadshow” with ASEAN. The event was led by senior members of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s economic team and attended by financial investors, U.S. multinational corporations, and early-stage companies. Two speeches at the event showed that the U.S. State Department has begun to advocate for the adoption of blockchain technology.

David H. Thorne, senior adviser to the secretary of state, was one of the participants in the roadshow. He is responsible for leading the departments to position economic and business issues at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy and "promote the importance of entrepreneurship, technology and innovation in the work of the State Department."

Thorne spoke at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lecture in Jakarta, Indonesia on March 3 and at a Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation conference in Vietnam on March 7.

In his speech, Thorne encouraged these countries to adopt blockchain distributed ledger technology.

Vietnam and Indonesia also said in their speeches:

“We want to encourage the development of new financial technologies or financial technology innovations — blockchain and distributed ledgers, mobile banking, etc. — to support the development of e-commerce activities…Blockchain technology tools can increase financial and business transparency, reduce corruption and improve efficiency not only for startups, but for everyone.”

David H. Thorne

Bitcoin blockchain advancement

Last year, the White House appointed Dr. Edward Felten, a well-known Bitcoin researcher who previously served as director of Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP), as deputy chief technology officer of the United States.

Falton said earlier in CIPT’s “Freedom to Tinker” blog that Bitcoin

“It’s a new thing: it’s a currency whose rules are determined by open source governance, so governments need to find new ways to govern this new thing.”

Since Falton’s appointment, the Bitcoin community has been closely watching the Obama administration’s Bitcoin and blockchain policies. In 2014, the White House was asked during its daily press briefing whether it was monitoring Bitcoin and whether it would allow it to develop.

Edward Felten

In January 2015, the U.S. State Department sought partners to serve as advisors on digital currency research and to perform duties together with the Office of Monetary Affairs, the Office of International Finance and Development, and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. According to the announcement,

“The State Department’s Office of Monetary Affairs is responsible for regulating global monetary developments, including digital currencies such as Bitcoin.”

In May 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that Indonesia had begun using Bitcoin. Tribunnews.com in Jakarta reported that although the Indonesian central bank continued to urge caution with Bitcoin, Bitcoin remained very popular in major cities in Indonesia.

In January 2016, Bitcoin Vietnam and Coinify announced the launch of the first “blockchain payment processing platform” in Vietnam.

The U.S. Innovation Roadshow Dialogue is currently the most obvious signal that the Obama administration is not only optimistic about blockchain technology, but is also actively promoting the use of blockchain technology.

Original article: https://bitcoinmagazine.com
By Brian Cohen
Compiled by: Kyle
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/us-state-department-recommends-development-of-blockchain)