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(Kitco News) - More than 40 states have joined together to launch the United States Blockchain Coalition (USBC), an organization intended to foster multistate collaboration and maintain American leadership in the fields of digital assets, Bitcoin, and distributed ledger technologies (DLT).
According to the project's mission statement, the USBC is “a proactive collaboration of state associations, private entities, and influential individuals that drives a national conversation about emerging technology policy, education, and adoption.”
The new coalition is being launched as part of an effort to develop a better approach to regulating the cryptocurrency ecosystem than the legislation-by-enforcement track that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken thus far.
“Nascent digital asset, Bitcoin and DLT companies often lack the individual influence to affect legislation or policy outcomes,” the press release said. “The USBC is the only organization with a multi-state approach, leveraging hyperlocal relationships to seek consistent policies at the state level through alignment on public policy and legislative priorities.”
The coalition will be led by representatives from Texas, Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania. Notably, the Washington Technology Industry Association – the largest technology industry association in the U.S. – is one of the coalition’s founding members.
The initial goals of the USBC are to “share best practices, learnings, and other resources across the states to develop a unified national strategy and supportive regulatory environment; Align and collaborate on public policy and legislative priorities, primarily at the state level; and Create opportunities to partner on projects that enhance the competitiveness of the U.S., different regions, and individual states.”
“There is great power in the community coming together to collectively advocate for the industry,” said Arry Yu, founder and co-chair of USBC and chair of the Cascadia Blockchain Council. “Through this coalition, we will break down silos and advance the conversation around the benefits of blockchain-based technology. By working together, we can inform national strategy and policy to enhance the competitiveness of the American blockchain-based ecosystem.”
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Each USBC member will be responsible for cataloging use cases for blockchain employed in their region, providing education to policymakers, building relationships with regulatory bodies, and “proactively seeking out new partnerships with industry, government, academia, and investors” to help facilitate the growth of the industry across the U.S.
The USBC will also be responsible for producing a state-by-state economic impact of digital assets study, which is expected to be released in early summer.
“The Bitcoin and blockchain industry is in a unique position - it has matured past infancy and is on the cusp of widespread adoption,” said Lee Bratcher, co-chair of the USBC and president of the Texas Blockchain Council. “Together, USBC members can lay the building blocks of what's next for our industry and create a coherent operational environment for all states.”
Following its launch, the multi-state coalition is now actively recruiting new members who are looking to help promote digital assets, Bitcoin, and DLT in their state.
