US Congress to Hold Blockchain Hearing on Valentine's Day

The U.S. House of Representatives has a date with blockchain this Valentine’s Day.

Two subcommittees of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology – for Oversight as well as Research and Technology – are holding a hearing, entitled "Beyond Bitcoin: Emerging Applications for Blockchain Technology," on Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. EST.

Appearing at the event are Walmart vice president of food safety Frank Yiannas; Charles Romine, director of the Information Technology Lab at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); IBM vice president of blockchain Jerry Cuomo; Congressional Research Service analyst Chris Jaikaran; and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law associate clinical professor Aaron Wright.

It's not immediately clear if the hearing will be broadcast live, as has been the case for prior events of this nature.

The subcommittees, in particular, oversee legislative and investigative actions into the science and technology fields. Notably, the Subcommittee on Research and Technology has the power to allocate resources to developing projects. However, it is not yet clear what the goal for next week's hearing will be.

While focusing on potential applications outside of currency, the House subcommittee event comes just over a week after the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing with the heads of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S. Congress building image via Shutterstock

Correction: An earlier version of this report stated incorrectly that Charles Romine is director of NIST.