US House Committee to Hold Hearing on Blockchain Benefits for Small Businesses

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business is set to discuss the benefits blockchain technology can bring to entrepreneurs.

Slated for March 4 at 11:30 a.m. ET (16:30 UTC), the "Building Blocks of Change: The Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Small Businesses" hearing will explore the ways in which some startups are utilizing blockchain technology to boost productivity and increase security.

"Blockchain has many other uses, including tracking goods in global supply chains or enabling peer-to-peer transactions between connected devices," said committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez in a recent notice.

Several witnesses will testify before the committee including Ownum CEO Shane McRann Bigelow, Popcom CEO Dawn Dickson, general counsel for Protocol Labs Marvin Ammori and Jim Harper, visiting fellow for the American Enterprise Institute.

The hearing comes at a time when more businesses and governments around the world are ramping up efforts to explore blockchain technology for a variety of different use cases, including tracking goods and services across supply chains, as well as increasing transparency and trust among stakeholders.

Bigelow said via email that he hopes the hearing will demonstrate U.S. leadership on blockchain technology, in line with how the U.S. led the internet boom in the 1990s and early 2000s.

"The Committee on Small Business is doing our country a favor by starting 2020 with a look at how blockchain can be used, beyond crypto, to enhance our daily lives," he said.