James_Sept-Oct_2025_web - Flipbook - Page 39
A new era in technology
and 昀椀nance is underway
and Georgia has the
opportunity to lead it.
Across the country, there’s growing momentum behind a simple but
powerful idea: America should be the
best place in the world to build. That
means encouraging innovation, empowering entrepreneurs and crafting
clear, consistent rules that protect
consumers without stifling growth.
I’ve spent over two decades
living here in Georgia but working
for Silicon Valley technology companies. In those roles, I consulted with
Fortune 100 companies, mid-tier
businesses and startups alike. Today,
I’m proud to help lead Atlanta’s
blockchain ecosystem as Principal
Consultant at Skyrocket Financial
Solutions. Our mission is to build resilient financial infrastructure— and
to ensure Georgia is at the forefront
of shaping what comes next.
We’re not starting from scratch.
Georgia is already a payments and
logistics powerhouse, home to financial institutions, global brands and
a rising generation of tech talent.
This talent also includes blockchain through organizations like
the Atlanta Blockchain Center. Gov.
Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, and
House of Representatives Speaker
Jon Burns have each made clear that
embracing innovation is a strategic
priority— not a partisan issue.
That’s a smart approach. Just
as the internet once transformed
how we communicate and shop,
blockchain is transforming how we
execute and verify transactions,
move value and manage data. The
technology is already being used to
reduce remittance costs for working families, improve supply chain
traceability and enable real-time
payments with fewer intermediaries.
But policy hasn’t caught up.
Too many innovators are forced to
navigate unclear rules, overlapping
jurisdictions, or outdated regulatory
frameworks. As a result, we’ve seen
talent and capital move abroad.
To stay competitive, we need to
modernize our regulatory approach.
That means updating laws to reflect
the realities of today’s economy,
providing legal clarity for emerging
technologies and holding bad actors
accountable without penalizing responsible builders. When done right,
regulation should unlock opportunity— not limit it.
We should be protecting consumers with clear rules and strong
oversight while enabling responsible
risk-taking, financial inclusion, and
open competition. That’s how we foster a thriving digital economy rooted
in American values and designed for
long-term success.
I recently spoke at the Georgia
State University Robinson Leadership Conference in Atlanta about
what it takes to bounce back from
disruption and move forward with
strength. The lesson applies just as
much to public policy as to private
enterprise: resilience comes from
having a full commitment to your
end goal, not just a desire to achieve
it. In the words of Sir Winston
Churchill: “Destiny is not a matter
of chance, it is a matter of choice; It
is not a thing to be waited for, it is a
thing to be achieved.” I personally
believe that the state I was born in
and love so much possesses a destiny of greatness to lead in our nation,
not follow.
S E PT E M B E R /O C TO BER 2025
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