The U.S. government is showing support for digital currencies and seeing potential advantages to its use. A nonbinding resolution passed on Monday that touts blockchain’s secure processes and its potential in helping the unbanked.
The U.S. government seems to be accepting the positive impact that digital currencies and blockchain could have on legacy financial systems, according to Business Insider. A non-binding resolution was passed on Monday (Sept. 12) by the U.S. House of Representatives, asking the government to establish a national policy for technology.
The resolution implies that bitcoin and blockchain technology are ways to help the unbanked and empower the consumer.
According to the resolution, digital currencies increase transparency and provide more secure payment authentication. Because all digital currency transactions are stored in a tamper-proof ledger system and transactions use a traceable code to authorize transactions, consumers may consider them more secure than other payment methods, such as credit cards.
Blockchain is considered to increase trust in financial services because blockchain ledgers are tamper-proof. Also, transactions in blockchain can contain large amounts of data, providing opportunities for scale. Blockchain ledgers can require each party to verify a transaction, ensuring that information is not passed on to a third party without all participants’ authorization.
The resolution is evidence of support for digital currencies and blockchain technology in the House of Representatives. A bill on blockchain and digital currencies put forward in the House or the Senate is the next step and seems likely considering the strong support in the House.
If the bill passes, national regulations on digital currency and blockchain might allow them to finally gain traction. The U.S. might be trying to emulate the less strict FinTech regulations in Europe, which boosted financial technology innovation. Although the FinTech industry is seeing investment, regulations are not keeping pace and can affect the pace of industry growth.