U.S. government launches 'Tech Force'…supports private tech personnel including Coinbase and Robinhood

The U.S. government has partnered with the private sector to undertake a large-scale expansion of personnel to strengthen core technological capabilities such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. With virtual asset exchanges Coinbase and Robinhood participating, the importance of virtual asset and blockchain expertise in government policy is also being highlighted.

According to Cointelegraph on the 17th (local time), the U.S. government officially announced the launch of a new 'Tech Force' the day before. The Tech Force aims to fill personnel gaps in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and software engineering by seconding private-sector technical staff to federal agencies. The government plans to secure about 1,000 talents in the initial phase, including early- to mid-career personnel and experienced managerial staff.

Coinbase and Robinhood were named among about 30 initial private partners alongside Apple, Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. Private companies will second their employees to federal agencies for one to two years and support training, and the personnel will be directly employed and funded by each agency. Markets interpret this as a signal that the government needs related expertise as virtual assets rapidly integrate into the financial system.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said Tech Force personnel will be deployed across a wide range of departments, including the Treasury Department, the Department of Commerce, and the Internal Revenue Service. OPM Director Scott Cooper told CNBC in an interview, "While the government is seeing more retirements, it is not bringing in enough next-generation leaders," and added, "We want to show that meaningful and complex technical challenges can be performed within government." He explained that early-career personnel account for only about 7% of government organizations.

Cooper also outlined plans to promote public-private personnel rotation after secondment periods end. He said, "The experience gained in government is also valuable in the private sector," adding, "We will ensure that after completing their terms and returning to the private sector, it can naturally lead to the next stage of their careers." OPM and private partners will jointly hold job fairs for participants after the secondments end.

The virtual asset industry has already accumulated experience cooperating with the government. Centered on blockchain analytics firms, it has provided technical support for tracing criminal funds and regulatory investigations, and recently, as the policy environment has eased, advisory consultations with regulators have also increased. The launch of the Tech Force is seen as an opportunity to expand such cooperation into a more institutionalized form.