US Government Supports Launch of New Chicago Blockchain Center

Published at: June 15, 2017

A new Blockchain center is now operational in the Chicago, thanks to the full support of the government and few of the city’s prominent enterprises.

Center to learn more about Blockchain

The Chicago Blockchain Center (CBC) was established to oversee the development of Blockchain startups and provide mentorship for entrepreneurs, students, and anyone who wants to learn about the intricacies of Blockchain. CBC will also host different kinds of events and run many research initiatives.

CBC is supported by CME Group, trading firm DRW, and the State of Illinois. The non-profit organization will have Jennifer O’Rourke, Blockchain business liaison of Illinois, as its first director of public relations and engagement.

According to O’Rourke, CBC and its partners will work with the Blockchain community day in and out. This will help CBC understand all of the community’s needs and meet them properly.

The current CBC is a new version – an overhauled setup of the 2015 Chicago Bitcoin Center. Bloq investor Tally Capital, a partner in the previous Bitcoin Center, has joined the CBC expansion. Other partners included in the venture are media startup Distributed and the popular law firm, Perkins Coie.

Blockchain lab to support crytocurrency startups

With the CBC having successful Blockchain campaigns and monitoring runs, the State of Illinois has become a steadfast state in Blockchain adoption. The state has also released its first Blockchain policy, prompting State Legislator Michael Zalewski to initiate the creation of a Blockchain working lab. One month later, the State of Illinois became part of the R3 Blockchain Consortium.

CBC founder Matt Roszak led the transition of the center from cryptocurrencies to Blockchain in general. This strategic move is vital to the growth of CBC and interests of its partners.

Roszak says:

“We expect the CBC to become a foundational component in the identification and maturation of the local distributed ledger technology talent pipeline”.

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Blockchain
United States
Chicago
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