Tennessee Passes Bill To Legalize Blockchain And Smart Contracts

Tennessee has passed a new Senate bill to recognize the use of blockchain technology and smart contracts in electronic transactions as legal. With Florida and Nebraska also considering a similar move, the different states of the US have been creating their own regulations pertaining to the blockchain technology.

Tennessee governor signs bill to legalize blockchain transactions

A new Senate bill that recognizes the legality of blockchain and smart contracts has been passed in the general assembly of the US state of Tennessee.

Under this bill, the blockchain technology has been defined as a “distributed ledger technology that uses a distributed, decentralized, shared, and replicated ledger, which may be public or private, permissioned or permissionless, or driven by tokenized crypto economics or tokenless.”

It has been further stated that “the data on the ledger is protected with cryptography, is immutable and auditable, and provides an uncensored truth.”

The Senate Bill 1662 has been first introduced three months back on January 18 and was signed by the Governor, Bill Haslam. The bill passed the Senate and the House without any opposing votes, reaching its destination through a smooth journey. Republic Senators Richard Briggs and Steven Dickerson and the Democratic Senators Jeff Yarvo and Lee Harris were the sponsors of the bill.

While the countries around the world are still understanding the concept of blockchain technology and smart contracts, Tennessee enacted this bill where “A signature that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic signature.” and “A record or contract that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic record.”

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Smart contracts recognized in the entire Tennessee state

Legalizing the smart contracts in the entire state, they are defined as “an event-driven program, that runs on a distributed, decentralized, shared, and replicated ledger and that can take custody over and instruct transfer of assets on that ledger.”

This will be the first time that a US state has legalized such a technology by passing a law. The bill further notes that “no contract relating to a transaction shall be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because that contract contains a smart contract term.”

After Tennessee, other states like Florida and Nebraska, are considering similar steps and such proactive measures will only help in the development and adoption of blockchain technology worldwide.

What are your views on the legalization of blockchain and smart contracts? Which state do you think will be next to enact such law? Share your thoughts with us!