Market News: Florida Is To Legalize Blockchain Signatures And Smart Contracts?
A congressman in Florida has proposed a bill that, if passed, will form a legal basis for blockchain data and smart contracts in the U.S. state.
House Bill 1357 presents various stipulations that blockchain ledgers and smart contracts be interpreted as legally-binding methods of data storage — as long as such measures do not violate any pre-existing laws or regulations.
The bill states that a “record or contract that is secured through blockchain technology is in an electronic form and is an electronic record,” and validates that a signature registered through a blockchain also passes as a valid electronic signature.
Qualifications outlined in the bill mean that if a person is to use a blockchain to secure interstate or foreign commercial ventures, ownership rights are not to be impacted. In other words, if one used a blockchain ledger to store information, the bill would constitutionally acknowledge one’s rights to that information.
The bill further states:
“A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because: 1. An electronic record was used in the formation of the contract [and] 2. The contract contains a smart contract term.”
