Distributed ledgers ‘critical’ in US-China tech arms race says Trump Administration. In its plan to maintain America’s technological dominance over China and Russia, the Trump Administration has included “distributed ledger technologies” (DLT), the grandaddy software behind cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
DLT is one of 20 priority areas on the “critical and emerging technologies” shortlist of the National Security Council, published Thursday. The NSC’s plan calls for priority innovations to be invested in, developed, implemented and promoted.
Also on the shortlist: AI, computer science, quantum computing and “space technologies,” mitigation technologies for mass destruction weapons, and others. Absent from the document are difficult numbers and a concrete implementation roadmap. U.S. government pockets are now investing in blockchain infrastructure, most publicly so in the Department of Homeland Security.
DLT for ground operations is also being studied by the U.S. military, but efforts are still in their early stages. Chinese officials on the DLT have been bullish for a long time. A state-sanctioned distributed network debuted months ago for hosting dapps and internet services. It is not quite as clear where Russia stands on state-sponsored DLT use cases.
