Hawaii Rep. Chris Lee @chrisleeforhi and BlockchainFoundry Chief of Technology Officer / Syscoin Lead Developer Jag Sidhu

After introducing Bill 1481 in the Hawaii House of Representatives, which aims to begin the research of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, Blockchain Foundry has agreed to help establish and advise state leaders in Hawaii in establishing a Digital Currency Foundation. The bill states that the legislature has recognized “vast potential for this technology to drastically change and improve public sector operations and private industry capabilities.”

Democratic representatives Mark Nakashima and Chris Lee believe digital currencies and blockchain can enhance cyber security, retail, transportation, supply chain management, and emerging industries. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain frameworks are a “novel peer to peer networking and distributed data storage technology that shifts the primary locus of control from centralized services to individuals or key holders,” details the proposed bill.

The Foundation will focus on opportunities for increasing tourism. “Digital currencies such as Bitcoin have broad benefits for Hawaii,” explains House Bill 1481. “A large portion of Hawaii’s tourism market comes from Asia where the use of Bitcoin as a virtual currency is expanding. Hawaii has the unique opportunity to explore the use of blockchain technology to make it easier for visitors to consume local goods and services and to drive the tourism economy.”

Blockchain Foundry is a leader in blockchain development and technology. Our flagship product Blockmarket is a decentralized global marketplace that exists completely on the Syscoin blockchain. The Syscoin blockchain supports the buying and selling of physical and digital goods, digital certificates, escrow, identities and more. Syscoin is on the cutting edge of production-ready blockchain technology. We’ve activated Segregated Witness, are activating Lightning Network and have recently joined Microsoft in developing a set of open standards for decentralized blockchain identity.

A large portion of visitors to Hawaii are knowledgeable of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. While most large vendors are open to accept these digital currencies, many vendors and operators in Hawaii just don’t know how. The Hawaiian Digital Currency Foundation will seek to educate and promote these businesses and promote the use of cryptocurrencies including Syscoin state wide.