[First release] 2018 Coindesk Consensus Conference: Deloitte and Linux Foundation believe that the government will eventually use blockchain technology and embrace the cryptocurrency economy

(Pictured above from left to right: Coindesk moderator, Deloitte Wendy Henry, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Savel, Illinois State Government Blockchain Business Liaison Leader Jennifer ORourke, Linux Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Jamie E Smith)

On Monday (May 14), local time in the United States, the three-day 2018 Coindesk Consensus Conference kicked off at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York. It is said that the conference attracted more than 5,000 people on the first day. At this conference, there was a discussion that attracted peoples attention, and industry insiders, including Deloitte and the Linux Foundation, shared their views on the governments attitude towards blockchain technology.

Jamie E Smith, chief marketing officer of the Linux Foundation, said that governments ultimately need to reform around blockchain technology, but the key issue is that they first need to understand what blockchain is. Jamie E Smith believes that blockchain technology can solve a series of major problems that the government is currently facing, such as data security and citizen identification. She even boldly predicted that the government may participate in the mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Wendy Henry is a senior manager of Deloitte, one of the Big Four Accounting Firms. He said that the government may eventually launch encrypted tokens (Token), such as public utility tokens, which may greatly promote the digital economy ecosystem. He said:

“It could be like when the postal service doesn’t provide the service, you can give citizens a token, and then they can use this token to buy stamps, or go to VistaPrint to buy Christmas cards. In this way, an extended ecosystem can be formed. And this Digital tokens will still stay within the ecosystem and then create a virtuous economy in the larger ecosystem. You know, the postal service ecosystem alone is as high as $1 trillion.”

Jennifer ORourke, director of blockchain business liaison for the Illinois state government, believes that the government has a misunderstanding of blockchain technology. She noted that governments are often centralized, while blockchain technology is decentralized. Take identification as an example. The government is worried that in the future there may not be a centralized agency to verify citizenship. For example, the DMV will not provide drivers licenses, the US Postal Service will not provide passports, and so on. But in fact, blockchain technology will not replace these services, but can further improve the status quo.

Finally, Tom Savel of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that blockchain technology can help monitor diseases. As an enterprise-grade service, blockchain enables tracking of people and demographics with specific diseases. In addition, blockchain technology can also improve the efficiency of drug distribution.