II 

Calendar No. 630 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4109 

To authorize the development of a national strategy for the research and 

development of distributed ledger technologies and their applications, 

to authorize awards to support research on distributed ledger technologies 

and their applications, and to authorize an applied research project 

on distributed ledger technologies in commerce. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2022 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. LUMMIS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. CASSIDY, and 

Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 12, 2022 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To authorize the development of a national strategy for the 

research and development of distributed ledger technologies and their applications, to authorize awards to 

support research on distributed ledger technologies and 

their applications, and to authorize an applied research 

project on distributed ledger technologies in commerce. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National R & D Strat3 egy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) DIRECTOR.—Except as otherwise expressly 

7 provided, the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

8 the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

9 (2) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER.—The term ‘‘distrib10 uted ledger’’ means a ledger that— 

11 (A) is shared across a set of distributed 

12 nodes, which are devices or processes, that par13 ticipate in a network and store a complete or 

14 partial replica of the ledger; 

15 (B) is synchronized between the nodes; 

16 (C) has data appended to it by following 

17 the ledger’s specified consensus mechanism; 

18 (D) may be accessible to anyone (public) 

19 or restricted to a subset of participants (pri20 vate); and 

21 (E) may require participants to have au22 thorization to perform certain actions 

23 (permissioned) or require no authorization 

24 (permissionless). 

25 (3) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY.—The 

26 term ‘‘distributed ledger technology’’ means techVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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1 nology that enables the operation and use of distrib2 uted ledgers. 

3 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 (5) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘relevant congressional commit9 tees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

13 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

14 (6) SMART CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘smart con15 tract’’ means a computer program stored in a dis16 tributed ledger system that is executed when certain 

17 predefined conditions are satisfied and wherein the 

18 outcome of any execution of the program may be re19 corded on the distributed ledger. 

20 SEC. 3. NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY 

21 R&D STRATEGY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, or a designee of the 

23 Director, shall, in coordination with the National Science 

24 and Technology Council, and the heads of such other rel25 evant Federal agencies as the Director considers approVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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1 priate and in consultation with such nongovernmental en2 tities as the Director considers appropriate, develop a na3 tional strategy for the research and development of dis4 tributed ledger technologies and their applications, with 

5 a particular focus on applications of public and 

6 permissionless distributed ledgers. In developing the na7 tional strategy, the Director shall consider the following: 

8 (1) Current efforts and coordination by Federal 

9 agencies to invest in the research and development 

10 of distributed ledger technologies and their applica11 tions, including through programs like the Small 

12 Business Innovation Research and Small Business 

13 Technology Transfer programs. 

14 (2)(A) The potential benefits and risks of appli15 cations of distributed ledger technologies across dif16 ferent industry sectors, including their potential to— 

17 (i) lower transactions costs and facilitate 

18 new types of commercial transactions; 

19 (ii) protect privacy and increase individ20 uals’ data sovereignty; 

21 (iii) reduce friction to the interoperability 

22 of digital systems; 

23 (iv) increase the accessibility, auditability, 

24 security, efficiency, and transparency of digital 

25 services; 


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1 (v) increase market competition in the pro2 vision of digital services; 

3 (vi) enable dynamic contracting and con4 tract execution through smart contracts; 

5 (vii) enable participants to collaborate in 

6 trustless and disintermediated environments; 

7 (viii) enable the operations and governance 

8 of distributed organizations; and 

9 (ix) create new ownership models for dig10 ital items. 

11 (B) In consideration of the potential risks of 

12 applications of distributed ledger technologies under 

13 subparagraph (A), the Director shall take into ac14 count, where applicable— 

15 (i) software vulnerabilities in distributed 

16 ledger technologies and smart contracts; 

17 (ii) limited consumer literacy on engaging 

18 with applications of distributed ledger tech19 nologies in a secure way; 

20 (iii) the use of distributed ledger tech21 nologies in illicit finance and their use in com22 bating illicit finance; 

23 (iv) manipulative, deceptive, and fraudu24 lent practices that harm consumers engaging 


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1 with applications of distributed ledger tech2 nologies; 

3 (v) the implications of different consensus 

4 mechanisms for digital ledgers and governance 

5 and accountability mechanisms for applications 

6 of distributed ledger technologies, which may 

7 include decentralized networks; 

8 (vi) foreign activities in the development 

9 and deployment of distributed ledger tech10 nologies and their associated tools and infra11 structure; and 

12 (vii) environmental, sustainability, and eco13 nomic impacts of the computational resources 

14 required for distributed ledger technologies. 

15 (3) Potential uses for distributed ledger tech16 nologies that could improve the operations and deliv17 ery of services by Federal agencies, taking into ac18 count the potential of digital ledger technologies 

19 to— 

20 (A) improve the efficiency and effectiveness 

21 of privacy-preserving data sharing among Fed22 eral agencies and with State, local, territorial, 

23 and Tribal governments; 

24 (B) promote government transparency by 

25 improving data sharing with the public; 


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1 (C) introduce or mitigate risks that may 

2 threaten individuals’ rights or access to Federal 

3 services; and 

4 (D) automate and modernize processes for 

5 assessing and ensuring regulatory compliance. 

6 (4) Ways to support public and private sector 

7 dialogue on areas of research that could enhance the 

8 efficiency, scalability, interoperability, security, and 

9 privacy of applications using distributed ledger tech10 nologies. 

11 (5) The need for increased coordination of the 

12 public and private sectors on the development of vol13 untary standards, including those regarding security, 

14 smart contracts, cryptographic protocols, virtual 

15 routing and forwarding, interoperability, zero-knowl16 edge proofs, and privacy, for distributed ledger tech17 nologies and their applications. 

18 (6) Applications of distributed ledger tech19 nologies that could positively benefit society but that 

20 receive relatively little private sector investment. 

21 (7) The United States position in global leader22 ship and competitiveness across research, develop23 ment, and deployment of distributed ledger tech24 nologies. 

25 (b) CONSULTATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Direc2 tor’s duties under this section, the Director shall 

3 consult with the following: 

4 (A) Private industry. 

5 (B) Institutions of higher education. 

6 (C) Nonprofit organizations, including 

7 foundations dedicated to supporting distributed 

8 ledger technologies and their applications. 

9 (D) State governments. 

10 (E) Such other persons as the Director 

11 considers appropriate. 

12 (2) REPRESENTATION.—The Director shall en13 sure consultations with the following: 

14 (A) Rural and urban stakeholders from 

15 across the Nation. 

16 (B) Small, medium, and large businesses. 

17 (C) Subject matter experts representing 

18 multiple industrial sectors. 

19 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

20 Director shall, for purposes of avoiding duplication of ac21 tivities, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the pro22 grams and policies of other relevant Federal agencies, in23 cluding the interagency process outlined in section 3 of 

24 Executive Order 14067 (87 Fed. Reg. 14143; relating en25 suring responsible development of digital assets). 


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1 (d) NATIONAL STRATEGY.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

3 submit to the relevant congressional committees and the 

4 President a national strategy that includes the following: 

5 (1) Priorities for the research and development 

6 of distributed ledger technologies and their applica7 tions. 

8 (2) Plans to support public and private sector 

9 investment and partnerships in research and tech10 nology development for societally beneficial applica11 tions of distributed ledger technologies. 

12 (3) Plans to mitigate the risks of distributed 

13 ledger technologies and their applications. 

14 (4) An identification of additional resources, ad15 ministrative action, or legislative action rec16 ommended to assist with the implementation of such 

17 strategy. 

18 (e) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING.—The 

19 Director shall, as the Director considers necessary, consult 

20 with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

21 and with the heads of such other elements of the Executive 

22 Office of the President as the Director considers appro23 priate, to ensure that the recommendations and priorities 

24 with respect to research and development funding, as ex25 pressed in the national strategy developed under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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1 tion, are incorporated in the development of annual budget 

2 requests for Federal research agencies. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director 

5 $1,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal years 2022 

6 and 2023. 

7 SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

9 Science Foundation shall make awards, on a competitive 

10 basis, to institutions of higher education or nonprofit orga11 nizations (or consortia of such institutions or organiza12 tions) to support research, including socio-technical re13 search, on distributed ledger technologies and their appli14 cations, with a particular focus on applications of public 

15 and permissionless distributed ledgers, which may include 

16 research on— 

17 (1) the implications on trust, transparency, pri18 vacy, accountability, and energy consumption of dif19 ferent consensus mechanisms and hardware choices, 

20 and approaches for addressing these implications; 

21 (2) approaches for improving the security, pri22 vacy, resiliency, interoperability, performance, and 

23 scalability of distributed ledger technologies and 

24 their applications, which may include decentralized 

25 networks; 


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1 (3) approaches for identifying and addressing 

2 vulnerabilities and improving the performance and 

3 expressive power of smart contracts; 

4 (4) the implications of quantum computing on 

5 applications of distributed ledger technologies, in6 cluding long-term protection of sensitive information 

7 (such as medical or digital property), and techniques 

8 to address them; 

9 (5) game theory, mechanism design, and eco10 nomics underpinning and facilitating the operations 

11 and governance of decentralized networks enabled by 

12 distributed ledger technologies; 

13 (6) the social behaviors of participants in decen14 tralized networks enabled by distributed ledger tech15 nologies; 

16 (7) human-centric design approaches to make 

17 distributed ledger technologies and their applications 

18 more usable and accessible; and 

19 (8) use cases for distributed ledger technologies 

20 across various industry sectors and government, in21 cluding applications pertaining to— 

22 (A) digital identity, including trusted iden23 tity and identity management; 

24 (B) digital property rights; 

25 (C) delivery of public services; 


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1 (D) supply chain transparency; 

2 (E) medical information management; 

3 (F) inclusive financial services; 

4 (G) community governance; 

5 (H) charitable giving; 

6 (I) public goods funding; 

7 (J) digital credentials; 

8 (K) regulatory compliance; 

9 (L) infrastructure resilience; and 

10 (M) peer-to-peer transactions. 

11 (b) ACCELERATING INNOVATION.—The Director of 

12 the National Science Foundation shall consider supporting 

13 startups that leverage distributed ledger technologies, 

14 have the potential to positively benefit society, and have 

15 the potential for commercial viability, through programs 

16 like the Small Business Innovation Research and Small 

17 Business Technology Transfer programs. 

18 (c) CONSIDERATION OF NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED

19 LEDGER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

20 STRATEGY.—In making awards under subsection (a), the 

21 Director of the National Science Foundation shall take 

22 into account the national strategy, as described in section 

23 3(d). 

24 (d) FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.—The Director of the 

25 National Science Foundation shall continue to make 


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1 awards supporting fundamental research in areas related 

2 to distributed ledger technologies and their applications, 

3 such as applied cryptography and distributed systems. 

4 SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY APPLIED RE5 SEARCH PROJECT. 

6 (a) APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECT.—Subject to the 

7 availability of appropriations, the Director of the National 

8 Institute of Standards and Technology, shall carry out an 

9 applied research project to study and demonstrate the po10 tential benefits and unique capabilities of distributed ledg11 er technologies. 

12 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the applied re13 search project, the Director of the National Institute of 

14 Standards and Technology shall— 

15 (1) identify potential applications of distributed 

16 ledger technologies, including those that could ben17 efit activities at the Department of Commerce or at 

18 other Federal agencies, considering applications that 

19 could— 

20 (A) improve the privacy and interoper21 ability of digital identity and access manage22 ment solutions; 

23 (B) increase the integrity and transparency 

24 of supply chains through the secure and limited 

25 sharing of relevant supplier information; 


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1 (C) facilitate increased interoperability 

2 across healthcare information systems and con3 sumer control over the movement of their med4 ical data; or 

5 (D) be of benefit to the public or private 

6 sectors, as determined by the Director in con7 sultation with relevant stakeholders; 

8 (2) solicit and provide the opportunity for pub9 lic comment relevant to potential projects; 

10 (3) consider, in the selection of a project, 

11 whether the project addresses a pressing need not 

12 already addressed by another organization or Fed13 eral agency; 

14 (4) establish plans to mitigate potential risks, 

15 for example those to privacy, of potential projects; 

16 (5) produce an example solution leveraging dis17 tributed ledger technologies for 1 of the applications 

18 identified in paragraph (1); 

19 (6) hold a competitive process to select private 

20 sector partners, if they are engaged, to support the 

21 implementation of the example solution; 

22 (7) consider hosting the project at the National 

23 Cybersecurity Center of Excellence; and 

24 (8) ensure that cybersecurity best practices con25 sistent with the Cybersecurity Framework of the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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1 tional Institute of Standards and Technology are 

2 demonstrated in the project. 

3 (c) BRIEFINGS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

5 the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

6 offer a briefing to the relevant congressional committees 

7 on the progress and current findings from the project 

8 under this section. 

9 (d) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than 12 months 

10 after the completion of the project under this section, the 

11 Director of the National Institute of Standards and Tech12 nology shall make public a report on the results and find13 ings from the project. 

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National R & D Strat16 egy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022’’. 

17 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) DIRECTOR.—Except as otherwise expressly 

20 provided, the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

21 the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

22 (2) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER.—The term ‘‘distrib23 uted ledger’’ means a ledger that— 

24 (A) is shared across a set of distributed 

25 nodes, which are devices or processes, that parVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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1 ticipate in a network and store a complete or 

2 partial replica of the ledger; 

3 (B) is synchronized between the nodes; 

4 (C) has data appended to it by following 

5 the ledger’s specified consensus mechanism; 

6 (D) may be accessible to anyone (public) or 

7 restricted to a subset of participants (private); 

8 and 

9 (E) may require participants to have au10 thorization to perform certain actions 

11 (permissioned) or require no authorization 

12 (permissionless). 

13 (3) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY.—The 

14 term ‘‘distributed ledger technology’’ means technology 

15 that enables the operation and use of distributed ledg16 ers. 

17 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean19 ing given the term in section 101 of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

21 (5) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

22 The term ‘‘relevant congressional committees’’ 

23 means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

2 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

3 (6) SMART CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘smart con4 tract’’ means a computer program stored in a distrib5 uted ledger system that is executed when certain 

6 predefined conditions are satisfied and wherein the 

7 outcome of any execution of the program may be re8 corded on the distributed ledger. 

9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY 

10 R&D STRATEGY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, or a designee of the 

12 Director, shall, in coordination with the National Science 

13 and Technology Council, and the heads of such other rel14 evant Federal agencies and entities as the Director con15 siders appropriate, which may include the National Acad16 emies, and in consultation with such nongovernmental enti17 ties as the Director considers appropriate, develop a na18 tional strategy for the research and development of distrib19 uted ledger technologies and their applications, including 

20 applications of public and permissionless distributed ledg21 ers. In developing the national strategy, the Director shall 

22 consider the following: 

23 (1) Current efforts and coordination by Federal 

24 agencies to invest in the research and development of 

25 distributed ledger technologies and their applications, 


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1 including through programs like the Small Business 

2 Innovation Research program, the Small Business 

3 Technology Transfer program, and the National 

4 Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps programs. 

5 (2)(A) The potential benefits and risks of appli6 cations of distributed ledger technologies across dif7 ferent industry sectors, including their potential to— 

8 (i) lower transactions costs and facilitate 

9 new types of commercial transactions; 

10 (ii) protect privacy and increase individ11 uals’ data sovereignty; 

12 (iii) reduce friction to the interoperability 

13 of digital systems; 

14 (iv) increase the accessibility, auditability, 

15 security, efficiency, and transparency of digital 

16 services; 

17 (v) increase market competition in the pro18 vision of digital services; 

19 (vi) enable dynamic contracting and con20 tract execution through smart contracts; 

21 (vii) enable participants to collaborate in 

22 trustless and disintermediated environments; 

23 (viii) enable the operations and governance 

24 of distributed organizations; 


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1 (ix) create new ownership models for digital 

2 items; and 

3 (x) increase participation of populations 

4 historically underrepresented in the technology, 

5 business, and financial sectors. 

6 (B) In consideration of the potential risks of ap7 plications of distributed ledger technologies under sub8 paragraph (A), the Director shall take into account, 

9 where applicable— 

10 (i) additional risks that may emerge from 

11 distributed ledger technologies, as identified in 

12 reports submitted to the President pursuant to 

13 Executive Order 14067, that may be addressed 

14 by research and development; 

15 (ii) software vulnerabilities in distributed 

16 ledger technologies and smart contracts; 

17 (iii) limited consumer literacy on engaging 

18 with applications of distributed ledger tech19 nologies in a secure way; 

20 (iv) the use of distributed ledger technologies 

21 in illicit finance and their use in combating il22 licit finance; 

23 (v) manipulative, deceptive, and fraudulent 

24 practices that harm consumers engaging with 

25 applications of distributed ledger technologies; 


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1 (vi) the implications of different consensus 

2 mechanisms for digital ledgers and governance 

3 and accountability mechanisms for applications 

4 of distributed ledger technologies, which may in5 clude decentralized networks; 

6 (vii) foreign activities in the development 

7 and deployment of distributed ledger technologies 

8 and their associated tools and infrastructure; 

9 and 

10 (viii) environmental, sustainability, and 

11 economic impacts of the computational resources 

12 required for distributed ledger technologies. 

13 (3) Potential uses for distributed ledger tech14 nologies that could improve the operations and deliv15 ery of services by Federal agencies, taking into ac16 count the potential of digital ledger technologies to— 

17 (A) improve the efficiency and effectiveness 

18 of privacy-preserving data sharing among Fed19 eral agencies and with State, local, territorial, 

20 and Tribal governments; 

21 (B) promote government transparency by 

22 improving data sharing with the public; 

23 (C) introduce or mitigate risks that may 

24 threaten individuals’ rights or broad access to 

25 Federal services; 


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1 (D) automate and modernize processes for 

2 assessing and ensuring regulatory compliance; 

3 and 

4 (E) facilitate broad access to financial serv5 ices for underserved and underbanked popu6 lations. 

7 (4) Ways to support public and private sector 

8 dialogue on areas of research that could enhance the 

9 efficiency, scalability, interoperability, security, and 

10 privacy of applications using distributed ledger tech11 nologies. 

12 (5) The need for increased coordination of the 

13 public and private sectors on the development of vol14 untary standards in order to promote research and 

15 development, including standards regarding security, 

16 smart contracts, cryptographic protocols, virtual rout17 ing and forwarding, interoperability, zero-knowledge 

18 proofs, and privacy, for distributed ledger technologies 

19 and their applications. 

20 (6) Applications of distributed ledger tech21 nologies that could positively benefit society but that 

22 receive relatively little private sector investment. 

23 (7) The United States position in global leader24 ship and competitiveness across research, developVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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1 ment, and deployment of distributed ledger tech2 nologies. 

3 (b) CONSULTATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Director’s 

5 duties under this section, the Director shall consult 

6 with the following: 

7 (A) Private industry. 

8 (B) Institutions of higher education, includ9 ing minority-serving institutions. 

10 (C) Nonprofit organizations, including 

11 foundations dedicated to supporting distributed 

12 ledger technologies and their applications. 

13 (D) State governments. 

14 (E) Such other persons as the Director con15 siders appropriate. 

16 (2) REPRESENTATION.—The Director shall en17 sure consultations with the following: 

18 (A) Rural and urban stakeholders from 

19 across the Nation. 

20 (B) Small, medium, and large businesses. 

21 (C) Subject matter experts representing 

22 multiple industrial sectors. 

23 (D) A demographically diverse set of stake24 holders. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

2 Director shall, for purposes of avoiding duplication of ac3 tivities, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the pro4 grams and policies of other relevant Federal agencies, in5 cluding the interagency process outlined in section 3 of Ex6 ecutive Order 14067 (87 Fed. Reg. 14143; relating ensuring 

7 responsible development of digital assets). 

8 (d) NATIONAL STRATEGY.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit 

10 to the relevant congressional committees and the President 

11 a national strategy that includes the following: 

12 (1) Priorities for the research and development of 

13 distributed ledger technologies and their applications. 

14 (2) Plans to support public and private sector 

15 investment and partnerships in research and tech16 nology development for societally beneficial applica17 tions of distributed ledger technologies. 

18 (3) Plans to mitigate the risks of distributed 

19 ledger technologies and their applications. 

20 (4) An identification of additional resources, ad21 ministrative action, or legislative action recommended 

22 to assist with the implementation of such strategy. 

23 (e) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING.—The 

24 Director shall, as the Director considers necessary, consult 

25 with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 


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1 and with the heads of such other elements of the Executive 

2 Office of the President as the Director considers appro3 priate, to ensure that the recommendations and priorities 

4 with respect to research and development funding, as ex5 pressed in the national strategy developed under this sec6 tion, are incorporated in the development of annual budget 

7 requests for Federal research agencies. 

8 SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

10 Science Foundation shall make awards, on a competitive 

11 basis, to institutions of higher education, including minor12 ity-serving institutions, or nonprofit organizations (or con13 sortia of such institutions or organizations) to support re14 search, including interdisciplinary research, on distributed 

15 ledger technologies, their applications, and other issues that 

16 impact or are caused by distributed ledger technologies, 

17 which may include research on— 

18 (1) the implications on trust, transparency, pri19 vacy, accessibility, accountability, and energy con20 sumption of different consensus mechanisms and 

21 hardware choices, and approaches for addressing these 

22 implications; 

23 (2) approaches for improving the security, pri24 vacy, resiliency, interoperability, performance, and 

25 scalability of distributed ledger technologies and their 


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1 applications, which may include decentralized net2 works; 

3 (3) approaches for identifying and addressing 

4 vulnerabilities and improving the performance and 

5 expressive power of smart contracts; 

6 (4) the implications of quantum computing on 

7 applications of distributed ledger technologies, includ8 ing long-term protection of sensitive information 

9 (such as medical or digital property), and techniques 

10 to address them; 

11 (5) game theory, mechanism design, and econom12 ics underpinning and facilitating the operations and 

13 governance of decentralized networks enabled by dis14 tributed ledger technologies; 

15 (6) the social behaviors of participants in decen16 tralized networks enabled by distributed ledger tech17 nologies; 

18 (7) human-centric design approaches to make 

19 distributed ledger technologies and their applications 

20 more usable and accessible; 

21 (8) use cases for distributed ledger technologies 

22 across various industry sectors and government, in23 cluding applications pertaining to— 

24 (A) digital identity, including trusted iden25 tity and identity management; 


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1 (B) digital property rights; 

2 (C) delivery of public services; 

3 (D) supply chain transparency; 

4 (E) medical information management; 

5 (F) inclusive financial services; 

6 (G) community governance; 

7 (H) charitable giving; 

8 (I) public goods funding; 

9 (J) digital credentials; 

10 (K) regulatory compliance; 

11 (L) infrastructure resilience, including 

12 against natural disasters; and 

13 (M) peer-to-peer transactions; and 

14 (9) the social, behavioral, and economic implica15 tions associated with the growth of applications of 

16 distributed ledger technologies, including decentraliza17 tion in business, financial, and economic systems. 

18 (b) ACCELERATING INNOVATION.—The Director of the 

19 National Science Foundation shall consider continuing to 

20 support startups that are in need of funding, would develop 

21 in and contribute to the economy of the United States, lever22 age distributed ledger technologies, have the potential to 

23 positively benefit society, and have the potential for com24 mercial viability, through programs like the Small Business 

25 Innovation Research program, the Small Business TechVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4109.RS S4109

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•S 4109 RS

1 nology Transfer program, and, as appropriate, other pro2 grams that promote broad and diverse participation. 

3 (c) CONSIDERATION OF NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED

4 LEDGER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

5 STRATEGY.—In making awards under subsection (a), the 

6 Director of the National Science Foundation shall take into 

7 account the national strategy, as described in section 3(d). 

8 (d) FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.—The Director of the 

9 National Science Foundation shall consider continuing to 

10 make awards supporting fundamental research in areas re11 lated to distributed ledger technologies and their applica12 tions, such as applied cryptography and distributed sys13 tems. 

14 SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY APPLIED RE15 SEARCH PROJECT. 

16 (a) APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECT.—Subject to the 

17 availability of appropriations, the Director of the National 

18 Institute of Standards and Technology, may carry out an 

19 applied research project to study and demonstrate the po20 tential benefits and unique capabilities of distributed ledger 

21 technologies. 

22 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the applied research 

23 project, the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

24 and Technology shall— 


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1 (1) identify potential applications of distributed 

2 ledger technologies, including those that could benefit 

3 activities at the Department of Commerce or at other 

4 Federal agencies, considering applications that 

5 could— 

6 (A) improve the privacy and interoper7 ability of digital identity and access manage8 ment solutions; 

9 (B) increase the integrity and transparency 

10 of supply chains through the secure and limited 

11 sharing of relevant supplier information; 

12 (C) facilitate increased interoperability 

13 across healthcare information systems and con14 sumer control over the movement of their medical 

15 data; 

16 (D) facilitate broader participation in dis17 tributed ledger technologies of populations his18 torically underrepresented in technology, busi19 ness, and financial sectors; or 

20 (E) be of benefit to the public or private sec21 tors, as determined by the Director in consulta22 tion with relevant stakeholders; 

23 (2) solicit and provide the opportunity for public 

24 comment relevant to potential projects; 


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•S 4109 RS

1 (3) consider, in the selection of a project, whether 

2 the project addresses a pressing need not already ad3 dressed by another organization or Federal agency; 

4 (4) establish plans to mitigate potential risks, 

5 including those outlined in section 3(a)(2)(B), if ap6 plicable, of potential projects; 

7 (5) produce an example solution leveraging dis8 tributed ledger technologies for 1 of the applications 

9 identified in paragraph (1); 

10 (6) hold a competitive process to select private 

11 sector partners, if they are engaged, to support the 

12 implementation of the example solution; 

13 (7) consider hosting the project at the National 

14 Cybersecurity Center of Excellence; and 

15 (8) ensure that cybersecurity best practices con16 sistent with the Cybersecurity Framework of the Na17 tional Institute of Standards and Technology are 

18 demonstrated in the project. 

19 (c) BRIEFINGS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

21 National Institute of Standards and Technology shall offer 

22 a briefing to the relevant congressional committees on the 

23 progress and current findings from the project under this 

24 section. 


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1 (d) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

2 the completion of the project under this section, the Director 

3 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

4 make public a report on the results and findings from the 

5 project. 


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Calendar No. 630 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4109 

A BILL 

To authorize the development of a national strategy 

uted ledger technologies in commerce. authorize an applied research project on distribledger technologies and their applications, and to thorize awards to support research on distributed ledger technologies and their applications, to aufor the research and development of distributed 

DECEMBER 12, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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