Trump Administration Focuses on Blockchain Technology Adoption

US President Trump administration has reaffirmed its commitment to Blockchain technology adoption in government operations as an important policy and strategy. This was reiterated by two senior White House officials at the Data Transparency 2017 conference held in late September.

In her conference remarks, US Office of Management and Budget acting federal chief information officer Margie Graves, the federal government is exploring several forward-leaning capabilities of artificial intelligence and Blockchain that could benefit the operations of the government.

Graves specifically claimed that Blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be used to reduce waste, spending and incidence of fraud, as well as bolster cybersecurity defenses of the country.

"These kinds of technologies are always something that we should explore. I don't want my customers to be the last to know, or to be the last to be able to take advantage of some of these."

Meanwhile, White House director of strategic initiatives and assistant to the president, Chris Liddel, stressed that the federal government should start implementing the foundational data standards to position the country in harnessing the potential of Blockchain and other technologies in the coming years.

“Whether it is Blockchain, artificial intelligence or perhaps a new technology that hasn't yet been envisaged, standardized data will help ensure the government stays current of technology's latest trends."

Blockchain projects by US government agencies
Several US government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the General Services Administration (GSA), are already piloting Blockchain in their operations

The CDC has launched a pilot project for the use of the technology during disaster relief operations, particularly on public health data surveillance aimed at preventing the spread of preventive and chronic diseases.

The GSA, meanwhile, is advancing a program to develop a Blockchain-based system which is aimed at replacing the Fastlane procurement system for information technology projects.