# What This Bill Actually Does

This bill is essentially the federal government's way of saying "we need to get serious about blockchain and distributed ledger technology." It's not creating new cryptocurrency regulations or banning anything—instead, it's directing the government to develop a comprehensive research and development strategy for this technology and fund studies to figure out how it could be useful.

Here's what that means in practical terms: The bill asks the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy to work with various federal agencies, universities, and private companies to create a national plan for researching distributed ledger technology (the underlying technology behind blockchain and cryptocurrencies). This plan needs to be completed within a year and should identify what the government thinks are the most promising areas to invest in, what risks need to be managed, and how the U.S. can stay competitive globally in this technology space. The bill also directs the National Science Foundation to start funding research projects at universities and nonprofits studying how this technology could work in areas like digital identity, supply chain tracking, healthcare records, and financial services—especially for underserved communities.

Additionally, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the government's tech standards agency) is authorized to run a practical demonstration project to test out real-world applications of this technology. They'd pick one promising use case, build a working example, and then publish their findings publicly so others can learn from it.

The bill doesn't require any new spending—it just authorizes agencies to use existing budgets for these activities—and it doesn't change any laws about cryptocurrency or how people can use blockchain technology. It's fundamentally about the government investing in understanding and developing this technology rather than regulating it away or ignoring it.

National R & D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022

Waltz, Michael

National R &amp; D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022 This bill provides for a national strategy and research and development regarding technologies related to distributed ledgers (e.g., blockchain or Bitcoin). A distributed ledger is a ledger that is shared across and synchronized between a set of distributed nodes (i.e., devices or processes) in a network that store a complete or partial replica of the ledger and meet other requirements. The Office of Science and Technology Policy must develop a national strategy for the research and development of distributed ledger technologies and their applications, including applications of public and permissionless distributed ledgers. The office must coordinate with the National Science and Technology Council and other relevant federal agencies, as appropriate, on the strategy. The national strategy shall include <ul> <li> plans to support public and private sector investment and partnerships in research and technology development for societally beneficial applications of distributed ledger technologies, and </li> <li>an identification of additional resources, administrative action, or legislative action recommended to assist with the implementation of such strategy.</li> </ul> The National Science Foundation shall make competitive awards to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or their consortia) to support research, including interdisciplinary research, on distributed ledger technologies and their applications. The National Institute of Standards and Technology may carry out an applied research project to study and demonstrate the potential benefits and unique capabilities of distributed ledger technologies.