The State of Illinois is going to host a virtual blockchain hackathon ‘IBI Hack’ next month.

The month-long challenge, starting 01 July 2017, is a part of the Illinois Blockchain Month – 30 days of blockchain education and events across the state of Illinois. The Illinois Blockchain Initiative is teaming up with Fulcrum to host the hackathon.

In December 2016, a consortium of Illinois state and county agencies officially launched the Illinois Blockchain Initiative to explore innovations presented by blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The initiative is now inviting industry leaders and students to work together to foster new innovations in e-identity, digitized government, and connected cities. The State of Illinois has been forwarding these concepts as part of its Smart State Initiative.

“Illinois is the state of innovation, and I am proud to see our young men and women getting involved in the Illinois Blockchain Initiative Hack. Empowering our youth is empowering the future of Illinois. These talented individuals will be faced with a lot of issues to solve as they grow, and encouraging them to get involved in shaping the future of our state and country now through innovation can teach them the power they have to influence change through creative problem solving. I am excited to see their ideas for Illinois, and I wish them good luck in this inaugural IBI Hack-a-thon!” Governor Bruce Rauner said in a statement.

According to the official website, participants will be required to tackle one of the IBI Hack challenges. So far, two challenges have been listed on the website:

• Public Sector: This challenge is posed by Jennifer M. O'Rourke, the Deputy Director at the Office of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology for the State of Illinois. It focuses on how can DLT inform and shape the way the public sector operates to more efficiently provide government products and services.
• FinTech: This challenge posed by Rahul Shah, Manager - Strategy and Finance at Fulcrum/Axiom Technology Group. It focuses on how blockchain technology could be effectively plugged into the traditional ecosystems to extend the FinTech applications of today.