"What to expect when the congress talks about Blockchain today?"

Two subcommittees in the US House of Representatives will discuss possible applications to blockchain in the government during a hearing on Wednesday.

"Beyond Bitcoin: new applications for Blockchain technology", scheduled to start on Wednesday at 10 am EST, is likely to be a broad overview of technology, being a key first step for any action related to the topic .

The panelists will explain the basic conceptions of technology before analyzing how it can be used, said Brandon VerVelde, spokesperson for the committee.

These panelists will come from both the private sector and government agencies with experience in the field.

Those attending the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which will oversee the hearing, indicated that the effort is exploratory in nature and will not necessarily result in any legislative or regulatory measures.

In fact, VerVelde said that "any possible future action of the committee on the subject will be informed by the audience."

Likewise, the committee is still not sure which specific government agencies could take advantage of blockchain technology, VerVelde said. That said, the committee's legislators shared some ideas about where they see blockchain applied in the federal government.

The congressmen attack positive notes

Although it remains to be seen what types of questions the members of the subcommittee will pose, members of the House expressed an open mind to some of the possible applications that will be discussed.

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) noted that blockchain can be applied to the exchange of digital information, saying: "It is important that we continuously look for the most innovative processes to ensure digital transactions and guarantee the integrity of the data."

The audience will analyze those possible applications, Higgins continued.

Similarly, Congressman Roger Marshall (R-KS) pointed out the potential uses of blockchain cybersecurity, highlighting the uses of data privacy, particularly in the area of ​​health.

Congressman Randy Hultgren (Republican from Illinois) echoed those sentiments and said he was eager to learn about best practices.

In addition, he told CoinDesk the following:

"Blockchain has a series of applications that can increase security, better serve consumers and provide efficiency to government processes."

The panelists are likely to share the experiences they had at their respective companies, including Walmart's vice president of food safety, Frank Yiannas, who will discuss the company's past efforts to track food through blockchain-based systems.

Similarly, a representative of Walmart's partner in that company, IBM, vice-president of Blockchain Jerry Cuomo, will explain what the technological giant has learned when building its own blockchain platforms.

"We imagine that there will be many new applications for blockchain technology as companies experience and refine new uses, many of which could also be used by the federal government, to protect sensitive information from Americans about government systems for supply chain risk management ", VerVelde exposed him to CoinDesk.

Source: CoinDesk