Tuesday morning (EDT) will see two subcommittees of the U.S. House Of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology be informed by four expert witnesses about how blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies are promising to be a valued addition to areas related to supply chain management.

The joint hearing entitled ‘Leveraging Blockchain Technology to Improve Supply Chain Management and Combat Counterfeit Goods’ will be moderated by two subcommittees of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee: [1] the Subcommittee on Oversight, and [2] the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.

Commencing at 10:00am EDT on Tuesday, members of the two subcommittees will hear from four expert witnesses. These are, in no particular order: [1] Dr. Douglas Maughan (Cyber Security Division Director, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security), [2] Mr. Robert “Bob” Chiaviello (IPR Counsel, Nuby Law), [3] Mr. Michael White (Head of Global Trade Digitization, Maersk), and [4] Mr. Chris Rubio (VP Global Customs Brokerage Staff, UPS).

Whilst the hearing will “highlight potential and proven applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technology in shipping, logistics, and customs,” there will be emphasis placed on certain areas of supply chain management, such as supply chain visibility (SCV) and anti-counterfeit measures.

Such applications have long been considered one of the most straightforward, conceivable use cases for distributed ledger technology. Indeed, SCV and anti-counterfeit are integral to the value proposition underpinning various cryptocurrencies like Waltonchain (WTC), VeChain, Seal (SEAL), Modum (MOD), OriginTrail (TRAC), Ambrosus (AMB), and several others.

For those interested, the hearing is being livestreamed on the congressional committee’s YouTube channel.

Eager To Learn

Tuesday’s joint hearing comes after the same two subcommittees held a February 14 joint hearing entitled ‘Beyond Bitcoin: Emerging Applications for Blockchain Technology’ (video available here). Supply chain risk management was but one application explored in a hearing that deconstructed the computer science underpinning blockchain technology, and how this could aid various industries.

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