New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently signed bill S2297, which creates a New Jersey Blockchain Initiative Task Force. The purpose of the task force is to create a list of possible blockchain solutions that could be of economic benefit to New Jersey.

This news comes after an announcement on New Jersey's official website. According to an August 8 press release, the state's task force will examine the risks and rewards of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. It will look at public and private blockchains and consensus algorithms. It will also look at current projects and cases from around the world in order to determine how they could apply to New Jersey. The task force is also going to examine how laws may need to be changed for security and record keeping on a paper-free basis.

After six months, the task force will complete a report. There are 14 members on the task force. The group has 180 days after its first meeting to report on its findings. The report is to contain a cost/benefit analysis of bringing blockchain technology into government agencies. The task force must also include recommendations on how to implement those changes.

Chris Rein will head the task force. He is New Jersey's Chief Technology Officer. He stated that he is excited to lead the state in optimizing blockchain technology. He also plays a role in identifying fraud in digital coins.

New Jersey Senator James Beach sponsored the bill. He says that he feels confident about the use of blockchain for security and in local government matters. The state of New Jersey has taken some recent steps for protecting its citizens against two purportedly fraudulent initial coin offerings. The state's Bureau of Securities claimed that two companies, Zoptax and Unocall, engaged in securities fraud by issuing unregistered initial coin offerings. Beach called on them to end their offerings immediately. The state of New Jersey also stated that those two companies had previously issued statements that were false or misleading in regards to the material facts as related to their offerings for the sale of their securities.