It's a valid question. There have been lots of grants given out for Blockchain applications. I'm curious why this particular one is receiving attention from Hacker News. For example earlier this year DHS awarded 6 separate companies for Blockchain solutions[0], each of which were awarded $100,000. Some of them will probably move on to phase 2 and receive $800,000.
its Saturday, there isn't much else going on, it was 100k from a state agency, in Utah no less, i mean.. why not?
some people are into it.
The Utah part is definitely interesting. Plus, it's interesting to hear about non-"big VC" funding. A grant of this size for a small business could help stabilize payroll for several devs, e.g. it can have a decent multiplier effect.