The State of Washington has approved a bill that aims to increase the adoption of blockchain technology across various sectors. State Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law. According to reports, the law allowed the formation of the Washington Blockchain Work Group which will now examine the potential of this technology.
Work Group to examine blockchain implication
The work group will be composed of key stakeholder groups, representatives from the legislature, financial institutions, and trade associations. The group will examine the implication of the technology in a wide range of areas including health care, higher education banking and financial services. However, the Blockchain group will host an inaugural meeting by December 1, 2022, after which it will submit a review report to the Governor by December 1, 2023.
According to reports, ten state senators sponsored the bill. However, the bill has its own long story as it was first proposed in 2019. The governor refused to give official permission in April 2020, then Senators spent around 2 years on a bill to make it approvable.
Senator Sharon Brown, who originally proposed the bill said that the new law is the first step in designing an ecosystem with blockchain technology. He added that every day many companies are acquiring this technology to improve their services.
Vital first step in building tech ecosystem
Senator Brown also mentioned that the formation of the Washington Blockchain Work Group will show that this state is ready utilise the technology for the welfare of the population.
Washington will be the latest addition to the list of states adopting cryptocurrency or blockchain in the U.S. Every state is trying to woo the Crypto miners. According to CNBC, New York is alone generating 19.9% of bitcoin’s hash rate, while Kentucky and Georgia are contributing with 18.7% and 17.3% respectively.