The U.S. DoD Has To Elevate To The Blockchain Era Before It’s Too Late

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) finds itself in an uncomfortable position, where industry experts urge the governmental body to level-up into a blockchain compatible organization, in order to stay at least competitive if not ahead of competition. 

Innovative technological achievements such as computers and the internet itself were always tested on an excessive level by two leading industries before achieving mainstream adoption: Banking, and Military.

As a matter of fact, the first commercial computer, which was an IBM machine, was tailored for financial institutions which sought ways to automate logistical, statistical, and archiving processes using what was considered at that time “sophisticated machinery”, although in some cases we’re talking about plain calculators. That’s right!

Read More: Alternative Uses to a Blockchain That Have Nothing to Do With Bitcoin or Other Monetary Systems

So, my question in 2020 would be: Blockchain technology is mostly used by the banking and financial sector, but what’s militech’s approach on the matter?

A joint white paper proposed by IBM, Accenture, AWS, and Deloitte among others explained to the U.S. Departnment of Defense the reasons why it can’t afford to stay behind the ongoing global military blockchain race, currently led by Russia and China. 

The document, which was almost instantly deleted from Scribd, bears the title “Potential Use-Cases Of Blockchain Technology in DoD” and it was supposed to lay down analytically how and why the U.S. DoD should not only pay attention to the DLT industry, but consider to become a key player in the field. 

Coindesk managed to have a glimpse of the document before it was deleted (or set to private), revealing that the white paper was conducted by the Value Technology Foundation in association with a handful of top-shelf enterprises, think tanks and DLT leaders. 

“The two superpowers that pose the greatest threat to the U.S. are both heavily investing in both the research and development of blockchain technology,” the briefing said: China’s on the “economic warfare” offensive with its digital currency. Russia is on defense with a lab dedicated to blockchain cyber threat mitigation.

Cream blockchain firms including the leading Ethereum studio ConsenSys, SIMBA Chain, and Colvin Run Networks were among the list of private entities involved in the creation of the proposal. All of them agree the U.S. lacks a clear vision as to what next when it comes to blockchain development and that affects everyone from retailers to technopolitcs and the military sector.

Read More: U.S. Air Force Pilots Blockchain Technology With Constellation & SIMBA Partnership

Some interesting use-cases mentioned in the document suggest that blockchain technology could be used in enhancing cybersecurity protocols, identification processes, and enable multi-sig authentication for dangerous weapons that cannot be forged or be stolen.

“Just as the DoD found a way to build new applications and make distributed systems possible on the Internet, blockchain enables new capabilities by offering a layer of trust that the DoD can apply to improve its procurement process,” the report said, according to CoinDesk.

Do you think the military really needs to step-up with blockchain? My personal take is that the military is well-aware if not the main influencer in blockchain trends, it’s just that they don’t do it via their official twitter, but rather in their typical behind the scenes fashion. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or feel free to bother me at Twitter.