Pennsylvania House representatives gathered at Hazelwood Green on Wednesday for a public hearing on cybersecurity — but the meeting quickly turned into a primer on blockchain technology.
“As technology changes, state policymakers must be up to date,” said Seth Grove, R-York, chairman of the Pennsylvania House Republican Committee. “Governments and other industries are looking at ways to onboard blockchain technology that benefit everything from service and delivery to cybersecurity.”
The hearing featured speakers from Microsoft, the PA Blockchain Coalition, Carnegie Mellon University and Magellan Scientific, although it was the blockchain folks the state representatives had the most questions for.
“I definitely began to learn a lot today,” said Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, as the meeting wrapped up, “but it sparks more questions.”
Ariel Zetlin-Jones, an associate professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, gave the representatives a mini-lecture on how blockchain technology works.
Mr. Zetlin-Jones, who is part of a faculty committee to build a “collaboratory” on CMU’s campus that will fund blockchain research, described blockchain as “a new way to generate shared memory.”
“In other words, it’s a database,” he said, but one that’s more trustworthy than other existing databases due to its decentralized nature.
Mr. Zetlin-Jones then broke down how the blockchain functions with an infographic that showed a hypothetical bitcoin transaction between friends named Bob and Alice.
The hearing veered away from cybersecurity topics as the subject of blockchain took the main stage. Representatives heard from Dominic Folino, president of the PA Blockchain Coalition, who argued for a stronger legislative framework to develop Pennsylvania’s blockchain and crypto industries.
“If we’re not a state that’s friendly [to blockchain-related companies], they’re going to move on to another state,” Mr. Folino said.
Chris Halvorson, president of Akron, Ohio-based Magellan Scientific, advocated for more digital asset mining, an industry that, while previously red hot, has suffered over the past year as bitcoin’s value has plummeted. (Earlier this month, Stronghold Digital Mining Inc., which owns two facilities in West Deer, told investors it had returned two-thirds of its bitcoin mining machines to tackle its debt.)
Mr. Grove and his fellow state representatives didn’t give a specific reason for why they chose to hold the hearing. Rather, they stressed the importance of general preparedness for cybersecurity attacks, which, according to Tyler Clark, state and local government industry manager at Microsoft, have grown more sophisticated in recent years.
Mr. Clark was the one expert from outside of the blockchain world who spoke at the hearing. He discussed his experiences aiding Illinois’ state government in fortifying its IT infrastructure to protect against cybersecurity breaches, and advocated for more advanced, and centralized, IT in Pennsylvania’s government.
“Basic security hygiene still protects against 98% of attacks,” he said.
Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, noted the importance of hearing from security experts like Mr. Clark, given recent news of a cyberattack that affected the Moon Area School District.
On the national level, Pennsylvania politicians are leading discussions on blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations in Congress. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Centre, introduced a law in November that aims to clarify how the federal government regulates cryptocurrencies. And Republican Sen. Pat Toomey recently teamed up with Democrat Kyrsten Sinema to introduce legislation that would lift taxes on digital asset transactions under $50.
The hearing may have left the state representatives with more questions than answers. “What is a ‘cryptographic equation’ and why does it matter?” asked Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, to which Mr. Zetlin-Jones responded in professor mode. “Is that clear?” he said.
“It’s clear as mud to me,” said Mr. Ortitay, eliciting smiles from his fellow representatives. “But I live nearby, so I know where to find you.”
Mr. Grove shared the sentiment.
“My brain is fried,” he said, before adjourning the hearing.
Noelle Mateer: nmateer@post-gazette.com
First Published: August 25, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: August 25, 2022, 10:15 a.m.
