The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services has tasked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with exploring the potential applications of blockchain technology for supply chain management and other national security purposes within the Department of Defense (DOD).
This directive was included in the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) report, issued on July 9 2024.
The report, which outlines authorizations for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Defense-wide programs, highlights the committee’s recognition of blockchain technology’s potential to enhance the cryptographic integrity of the defense supply chain. The committee believes blockchain could improve data integrity and mitigate the risk of data manipulation or corruption by near-peer competitors.
In its directive, the Senate committee urged the DOD to explore blockchain use cases to achieve national security goals, ensuring secure, transparent, accountable, and auditable supply chain data. To advance this initiative, Secretary Austin has been instructed to provide a comprehensive briefing by April 1, 2025.
According to the report, the briefing must cover six key findings, including plans for pilot programs or research and development efforts to explore blockchain’s use in national security applications such as supply chain management, cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, and procurement auditability.
Additionally, the briefing should identify the benefits and risks of blockchain in supply chain tracking and management, analyze the current state of blockchain adoption in the supply chain industry and in countries like China and Russia, and provide feasibility and cost estimates for implementing such technologies.
As the U.S. Senate eyed blockchain adoption, U.S. politicians began advocating for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. On July 8, Donald Trump’s campaign website announced that the Republican National Committee (RNC) had drafted a policy platform supporting cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin mining.
The platform emphasized defending the right to mine Bitcoin, self-custody digital assets, and transacting without government control. Previously, Trump expressed his support for Bitcoin mining, aiming for the U.S. to lead in this sector, and highlighted Bitcoin as a defense against a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
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