James Patchett, President, and CEO of The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced various blockchain-related initiatives that the city will be undertaking in order to facilitate the growth of the blockchain industry within The Big Apple.

Speaking at the Consensus conference, Mr. Patchett has claimed that, ““There’s no city in the world that’s better positioned to lead the way in the blockchain. The city is putting a big focus into blockchain to find out how we can grow the industry and make sure it’s creating great opportunities for New Yorkers.“

Surely, such cities as Dubai, Tokyo or Seoul that have already embraced the crypto industry would have something to say about this but nonetheless, this announcement presents an enticing opportunity for American blockchain enthusiasts.

According to the official statement, NYCEDC will launch a brand new NYC Blockchain Resource Center as well as public competition for blockchain apps. The new initiatives will hopefully stimulate innovation and interest in the distributed ledger technology as well as bring both institutional players and blockchain developers together.

The Resource Center will serve as part educational, part entrepreneurial facility, introducing the technology to the general public while also serving as a hub for blockchain aficionados. The blockchain competition, set to begin in late 2018 will find its home at the annual NYC BigApps event. The city hopes its participants will be able to address the issues of the NY public sector using the distributed ledger technology.

Mr. Patchett went on to add that, “We’re a global leader in finance, real estate, media, and tech – all industries seeing incredible innovation from this new technology.“ Blockchain job postings have risen by a staggering 800 percent from 2015 to 2017 and with such a trend poised to continue, the distributed ledger industry holds a massive potential to create thousands of well-paid jobs in the city.

New York State Department of Financial Services has been offering a so-called BitLicense since 2015 for emerging crypto businesses. However, acquiring it is easier said than done as companies have to overcome a bunch of institutional hurdles to get one. Therefore, only a few crypto companies have been granted it and there have been voices, saying the regulatory burden does not allow for digital currency businesses to thrive in New York.

Hopefully, the new initiatives will help to overturn this situation as Maja Vujanovic, CEO of OGroup, which helps companies to implement blockchain into their own systems said that “Distributed ledger and similar emerging technologies are driving transparency in our society and our industries. We have to prepare current businesses for these inevitable changes, and the new generation of leaders that will drive a more abundant and inclusive economy.“

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