New Jersey Signs a Bill to Create Blockchain Workgroup

The group will study the risks and rewards related to blockchain technology, in order to find ideal blockchain solutions for the state

In order to research and promote new blockchain developments, the Governor of the state of New Jersey in the United States, Phil Murphy, signed a bill number S2297 to create a blockchain research group.

The name of the team will be New Jersey Blockchain Initiative Task Force and it will be dedicated mainly to studying solutions based on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and for the benefit of the state.

This information was recently made public through a press release published on the official website of that American region. The statement details that the group will consist of 14 members who are appointed by officials who occupy different positions in the government of that state.

Chris Rein, Director of Technology for the state of New Jersey, will lead the task force and said he feels excited to be part of the process to “shape how the state government can best use blockchain technology”.

Constant Evaluation

The group, in detail, will study the risks and rewards related to blockchain technology, as well as all information related to distributed accounting books:  both public and private block chains and consensus algorithms.

In addition, the team will evaluate the projects that are currently being worked on, as well as the cases of use of blockchain technology in other regions of the world and the possibility of modifying some laws in New Jersey, so that this technology is taken into account.

Once the work team meets for the first time, they will have 180 days to report the findings of their investigation. As part of the study, the team must provide an analysis about the cost-benefit of using blockchain technology in government agencies, in addition to recommendations on how to use blockchain platforms.

Information Protection

“In an age where digital information needs protecting, blockchain is a technological innovation that will protect us from hackers and those seeking to steal our information”, said Senator James Beach, who sponsored the bill.

The official said that blockchain technology will work as a security measure for digital information, something that is currently needed. “Whatever the working group decides, there is a place for blockchain to be used in local governments to protect them from the ever increasing dangers of the Internet”, he said.

In recent weeks, the state of New Jersey has shown interest in taking measures to protect its users from scams. Recently, the state made some decisions and follow some steps with the aim of protecting its citizens from two fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

According to the New Jersey Securities Office, Unocall and Zoptax are involved in fraud for using their unregistered ICOs. As an immediate measure, the Securities Office asked these companies to stop these offers.

The department explained that these companies issued false statements “materially”, by omitting to declare material facts related to the offer and sale of securities.

By María Rodríguez