The US Blockchain Coalition forms to advance US leadership in digital assets

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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 promote multi-state cooperation and maintain US leadership in digital assets, Bitcoin and distributed ledger technology (DLT).

According to the project’s mission statement, the USBC is “a proactive collaboration of government associations, private entities and influential individuals driving 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 law-by-enforcement track that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken so far.

“Investing digital assets, Bitcoin and DLT companies often lack the individual influence to influence legislation or policy outcomes,” the press release said. “USBC is the only organization with a multi-state approach, leveraging hyperlocal relationships to seek consistent policies at the state level through alignment of public policy and legislative priorities.”

The coalition will be led by representatives from Texas, Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Pennsylvania. In particular, the Washington Technology Industry Association – the largest technology industry association in the US – is one of the coalition’s founding members.

The initial goals of the USBC are to “share best practices, learning, and other resources across 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 collaborate on projects that improve the competitiveness of the United States, various regions and individual states.”

“There is great power in the community coming together to advocate for the industry,” said Arry Yu, founder and co-chair of the 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 technology. By working together, we can inform national strategy and policy to improve the competitiveness of the US blockchain ecosystem.”

Each USBC member will be responsible for cataloging use cases for blockchain employed in their region, providing education to decision makers, building relationships with regulatory bodies and “proactively seeking out new partnerships with industry, government, academia and investors” to help facilitate growth of industry across the United States

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 earlier and is on the verge 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 for what’s next for our industry and create a cohesive operating environment for all states.”

Following the launch, the multi-state coalition is now actively recruiting new members who want to help promote digital assets, Bitcoin and DLT in their state.