,i  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #feig  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #c1 #bjbb  
,ms4 ,salazar 7for herself1 ,mr4        
,khanna1 ,mrs4 ,kim of ,california1 ,mr4
 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,budd1 ,mrs4 ,cammack1 ,mr4
 ,donalds1 ,mr4 ,waltz1 ,ms4 ,tenney1   
,mr4 ,emmer1 ,mr4 ,rose1 ,mr4 ,davidson1
 ,mr4 ,norman1 ,mr4 ,austin ,scott of   
,georgia1 ,mr4 ,steil1 ,mr4 ,timmons1   
,mr4 ,cawthorn1 ,mr4 ,steube1 and ,mrs4 
,wagner7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,small ,business  ,a ,,bill  ,to require
 the ,administrator of the ,small       
,business ,administration to conduct a  
study on the state of blockchain        
technology and its use in consumer      
protection1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,blockchain ,solutions for ,small  
,businesses ,act4  #b4 ,findings        
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,blockchain or distributed ledger       
technology allows computers connected by

 a peer-to-peer network to reach        
agreement over a shared ledger of data4 
,changes to the shared ledger can only  
be effected if the majority of the      
computers in the network verify the     
validity of the change and agree to its 
inclusion in the ledger4  7#b7 ,the     
,connected ,commerce ,council found that
 #gb percent of small businesses        
increased their use of digital tools    
during the ,,covid-#ai crisis1 and #dh  
percent utilized a new digital tool4    
7#c7 ,as small businesses increasingly  
move their operations online1 it is     
critical that any and all information   
relevant to the business is protected   
and secure4 ,blockchain technology is an
 additional tool that small businesses  
can leverage to ensure that the         
operation is adequately protected from  
cyberattack4  7#d7 ,blockchains are     
decentralized and distributed across    
peer-to-peer networks that are          
continually updated and kept in sync4   
,because these networks are not         

contained in a central location1 they do
 not have a single point of failure and 
cannot be changed from a single computer
 operating within the network4 ,these   
features of blockchain technology make  
stealing data or engaging in fraud      
significantly more difficult4  7#e7     
,blockchain technology has the ability  
to bolster trust and efficiency4 ,all   
participants in the blockchain networks 
have access to the same information1    
which is not only immutable but also    
updated in real time1 which means that  
information sharing and verification is 
streamlined and accessible to all       
relevant parties4  #c4 ,study on        
blockchain technology and its uses at   
the ,small ,business ,administration    
7a7 ,study required ,the ,administrator 
of the ,small ,business ,administration1
 in consultation with any other ,federal
 agency the ,administrator determines   
appropriate1 shall conduct a study on-- 
7#a7 the current and potential uses of  
blockchain technology to carry out the  

requirements of subsections 7a7 and     
7b77#b7 of section #g of the ,small     
,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcf72 and
  7#b7 the potential uses of blockchain 
technology to--  7,a7 minimize fraud in 
the lending programs established under  
such subsections2 and  7,b7 improve the 
provision of services under such lending
 programs4  7b7 ,elements ,the study    
required under subsection 7a7 shall     
include the following3 7#a7 ,an         
assessment of trends in the use of      
blockchain technology in the financial  
sector4  7#b7 ,a description of best    
practices to facilitate partnerships    
between private entities and the        
,administration to use blockchain       
technology to carry out the requirements
 of subsections 7a7 and 7b77#b7 of      
section #g of the ,small ,business ,act 
7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcf71 minimize fraud in 
the lending programs established under  
such subsections1 and improve the       
provision of services under such lending
 programs4  7#c7 ,with respect to       

carrying out the requirements of        
subsections 7a7 and 7b77#b7 of section  
#g of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae    
,u4,s4,c4 #fcf71 a description of--     
7,a7 the potential benefits and risks of
 using blockchain technology2  7,b7 how 
blockchain technology can be used to    
maximize efficiency of the              
,administration2 and  7,c7 how          
blockchain technology can be used to    
reduce fraud and increase the security  
of the lending programs established     
under such subsections4  7#d7 ,any other
 relevant information or recommendations
 related to the use of blockchain       
technology by the ,administrator4  7c7  
,report ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,administrator of the ,small        
,business ,administration shall submit  
to the ,committee on ,small ,business of
 the ,house of ,representatives and the 
,committee on ,small ,business and      
,entrepreneurship of the ,senate a      
report on the results of the study4  7d7

 ,blockchain defined ,in this ,act1 the 
term blockchain means a digital ledger  
or database which is chronological1     
consensus-based1 decentralized1 and     
mathematically verified in nature4