Blockchain Recognized By Washington State Law, What State Is Next?

The governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, has signed a bill that officially recognizes the legal status of electronic records such as those on blockchains.

Senate bill 5638, which will come into effect in July 2019, specifically mentions both blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) in its writing,

An electronic record may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is generated, communicated, received, or stored using distributed ledger technology.

The United States Passing Favorable Legislature

The new section in the bill also says that it “intends to encourage the  development of distributed ledger technology.”

Many states in the United States have passed blockchain-related bills in recent times. In 2018, Ohio passed a bill making it the first state to accept bitcoin for tax payments, and New Hampshire is following with the proposal of a new bill that allows for the same. West Virginia will also use blockchain for voting in the 2020 presidential election. Colorado and Wyoming have also passed crypto-related bills.

These developments bode well for the growth and innovation of the blockchain industry in the United States which, according to one report, is set to see exponential growth in the next 5 years.