The United States Senate Armed Services Committee recently recommended exploring the use of blockchain to strengthen the country’s national security. The committee released a report calling on the Department of Defense (DoD) to study this emerging technology and test its potential applications in the defense sector.
US Senate Military Committee Calls for Blockchain Development
The U.S. Senate Military Committee has released the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025. In the report, the committee authorized next year’s appropriations for the Department of Defense’s military activities and military construction.
The NDAA discussed several points of particular interest, including “evaluating blockchain technology for supply chain security and other national security uses.”
NDDA acknowledges the vast potential of blockchain technology. Source: Committee on Armed Services
The committee highlighted the vast potential of the technology and its uses for national security, including strengthening measures to combat corruption and data manipulation in the country:
Blockchain technology has the potential to improve the cryptographic integrity of the defense supply chain, improve data integrity, and reduce the risk of manipulation or corruption of certain types of data by close competitors.
Further, the U.S. Senate Military Committee believes that security, transparency, accountability, and data-driven verifiable supply chains are essential to enhancing U.S. national defense and economic competitiveness.
The NDAA suggests the United States follow the path of other countries and invest in research and development of blockchain technology. The report says these steps are important to maintain “global leadership in this critical technology.”
Regulatory clarity is needed for global leadership and adoption
The committee asked the Defense Department to study the use of this technology to achieve “national security objectives and create secure, transparent, accountable and verifiable data related to supply chains.”
According to the NDAA, the Secretary of Defense must send a briefing to the committee by April 1, 2025. In this briefing, the Secretary must assess possible applications of blockchain technology for supply chain management within the Department of Defense.
The report issued guidelines on the elements that need to be studied in the document, including the benefits and risks associated with implementing emerging technology in supply chain monitoring and management.
The Secretary is also required to analyze the current state of the Blockchain adoption in national security applications within DOD and the defense industrial base, with estimates of the resources required for these activities.
By the deadline, there will be a plan for pilot programs or research and development efforts to explore the use of the technology in the defense sector and an analysis of China and Russia’s use of blockchain technology.
Excerpt of the NDAA guidelines to the Secretary of Defense. Source: Committee on Armed Services
Finally, the briefing is expected to offer recommendations to further the development of the technology within DOD and recommendations for “legislative or regulatory actions to integrate blockchain technology to support supply chain transparency and auditability.”
The suggestions from the US Senate Military Committee highlight the need for clear guidelines to develop the country’s industry. Many politicians have called for a more welcoming regulatory approach in the US to foster the success of the crypto industry.
As the next election approaches, these efforts have earned the industry support from several politicians. reported According to Bitcoinist, key members of the US Congress and industry figures have been vocal about the regulatory challenges facing crypto businesses in the United States.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $57,495 in the five-day chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
