Biden passes $770B defense bill that wants to utilize DLT

After receiving overwhelming support from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, US President Joe Biden has signed the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA which allocates roughly $770 billion to the country’s defenses.

However, the bill has been going around the crypto community for different reasons. It has called for utilizing emerging technologies such as DLT to develop defense strategies for the Fiscal Year 2022.

While the Act does not mention blockchain technology or crypto assets, it calls for the Secretary of Defense to find ways to adopt emerging technologies, including distributed ledger technology, by April 1, 2022, The Block reported Tuesday.

In addition, the bill has also instructed the Secretary of Defense to hire “digital talent” with the help of a “chief digital recruiting officer”. The recruits should have the necessary knowledge of distributed ledger technologies.

While the bill did not mention cryptocurrencies, the US Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) has been looking for tracking tools to identify individuals and groups using cryptocurrencies for fraud, crime, money laundering, and other fraudulent activities.