Alexander Mann is a blockchain entrepreneur and Junior Public Affairs Advisor at the BSV Association.

Mann tells us a little bit about himself to kick things off; he has both tech and agriculture backgrounds, having been raised in rural America and worked in the semiconductor industry

Alexander Mann is a blockchain entrepreneur and Junior Public Affairs Advisor at the BSV Association. Having grown up in rural America and later worked in the semiconductor industry, he has tech in his blood. But he also has a background in agriculture, which he is deeply passionate about. After returning to agriculture with a mission to harness technology to improve it, he founded Smart Grow Agritech.

Now, Mann is focused on the public policy side, having started doing so locally in Virginia and connecting with Senator Saddam Salim, who was working on several blockchain bills. Mann is also working with SmartLedger’s Bryan Daugherty, who has been mentoring him.

In Wuckert’s experience, it’s essential to talk to mid-level staffers who later feed information to those above them.

“And a single definition or even a comma in a bill can really make a difference in how things turn out,” Mann adds.

A big change toward blockchain in Washington

Speaking of politics, Wuckert mentions the huge change in approach to blockchain tech between the previous Biden and the current Trump administrations. He asks Mann if that change is evident through his public policy work.

“Yes, it is. And while I opposed President Biden’s administration for red-taping innovation, I feel a healthy balance between the two is required. The USA must embrace new technology to stay ahead of the curve, and the new administration’s approach will be good from that standpoint,” Mann replies.

The politicization of data and how blockchain can fix it

On the subject of data, Wuckert brings up something he has mentioned many times before: some data is now so politicized that it’s difficult to tell the truth about anything. He gives the example of climate change—there’s no valid source that everyone will accept. He’d like his children to live in a world where everyone can look at 75 years of data gathered via IoT sensors and written to the immutable blockchain so they can reach a consensus about these matters.

“Yes, and I think it’s also naive of us to believe that any level of manufacturing has no impact on the environment. Countless studies have shown how plants moving into an area dramatically impact the flora and fauna. We can almost always find evidence of toxic chemicals in the soil, and everyday humans have a hard time imagining what that looks like at scale,” Mann says.

“Having said that, I want to see carbon credits, tree-planting initiatives, and other carbon mitigation techniques linked to immutable blockchain records. So many corporations are faking it, and it’s difficult to ascertain what they are doing.”

Resistance to change and how individuals can get involved

Wuckert says he’s worried that despite the awesome power of scalable blockchain technology, the toxicity of the culture around it—and the endless scams and schemes—will cause regulators to tie the industry up in red tape and consider the financial aspects over the technology itself.

“I think new technology always causes either curiosity or resistance, depending on the individual. There has always been a bell curve of adoption, from harvesters to the internet. But the gaps between world-changing innovations are speeding up, and people have little time to adjust.

“Let’s start conversations, talk about the technology in an informed way, and host meetups, etc. We need to make sure lawmakers understand how it can benefit people.

“Individuals looking to get involved can use sites like LegiScan to keep track of blockchain bills nationally and at the state level and can provide input. I would also recommend getting involved in town halls and talking or writing to others about your views.”