Bill to Give Blockchain Records Legal Clout Reintroduced in US House
Leaders of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus have reintroduced a bill that would give legal status to blockchain-secured records and smart contracts.
- Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) submitted the Blockchain Records and Transaction Act of 2020 on the House floor Wednesday, a measure similar to one introduced in 2018 but which never came up for a vote.
- The current bill would prohibit individuals from denying an electronic record legal effect “solely because it is created, stored or secured on or through a blockchain.”
- Further, the bill would enshrine blockchain and smart contracts in the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000, the cornerstone federal law protecting electronics signatures more broadly.
- The authors said in a statement this would legitimize blockchain records as a legal instrument in interstate and foreign commerce.
- Several states have already implemented similar provisions, most recently Illinois.
