The Illinois Blockchain Task Force released last month the first official government report on blockchain technology.

The government of Illinois has been making efforts to tap into the potential of blockchain technology. In November 2016, the Illinois Blockchain Initiative (IBI) was officially announced to explore how the technology can help accelerate economic development in the state. In 2017, the Illinois Blockchain Task Force was entrusted with the task of studying different aspects of distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The task force has been meeting over the past four months to discuss and study DLT and has now released the report. According to the official release, the final blockchain report is hosted on the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS) – a blockchain and distributed ledger related peer-to-peer file storage system.

“The Illinois Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Task Force worked diligently to produce a report Illinoisans can be proud of,” commented IL State Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-23rd District. “The Illinois Blockchain Initiative is leading the way on making sure our state is a welcoming place for innovators of this emerging technology. Over the coming months, my colleagues and I will study the legislative recommendations of the Report to see what can be implemented into law. Thanks to the hard work of the DoIT and IBI staff for a thoughtful, collaborative process.”

According to ETHNews, the report identifies opportunities and risks associated with DLT, different blockchain platforms, the blockchain efforts undertaken by other states and countries, and how to modify existing laws to recognize digital recordkeeping, public key and private keys, and digital signatures.

“To broadly summarize our findings, this Task Force believes that blockchain technology and its built-in encryption can facilitate highly-secure methods for interacting with government and keeping paperless records, increasing data accuracy and providing better cybersecurity protections for Illinois residents. Though the technology still needs refinement, government has an opportunity to help shape and adopt innovative solutions,” the authors stated.