In a press conference on August 23 at Ohio state house, Ohio lawmakers and academics declared the state’s plan to become the hub for blockchain development and research.
Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Ryan Smith summoned a group comprising business owners, academics and lawmakers to discuss the strategy to raise the development of the blockchain ecosystem in Ohio.
Smith portrayed blockchain as revolutionary innovation and a golden opportunity for Ohio. Since the technology is still in its initial stages, Ohio could be at the vanguard of the revolution. Additionally, Smith also said that he saw the technology as broadly applicable in the community sectors, including uses like storing marriage licenses and birth certificates to make this information more secure.
Furthermore, Smith proposed that by working with the universities closely students can gain expertise in the technology and he is endeavouring to position Ohio as a possible hub for companies operating with this tech.
“Because this is so new and this is just beginning to take shape, we can position Ohio out front,” he added.
Hesham El Gamal professor of Ohio state university and chairman of both Computer and Electrical engineering echoed the need to preserve talent in the state. He said singling out healthcare is one prominent instance that academic study into the technology is letting “exciting” and “unexpected” systems to emerge. Hesham also said that blockchain is a “Revolutionary” technology with community-wide and even world transformative potential.
CEO of cybersecurity and Columbus collaboratory Matt Wald explained blockchain’s benefit in various businesses and financial industry. He focused on the benefits that could be implemented for data storage and supply chain tracking. More importantly, he discussed the Ohio Senate bill which legally defined blockchain technology as a form of digital signature for business exchanges this summer. Alongside Ohio, U.S states have been gradually introducing robust regulatory processes to stimulate the technology’s adoption.
