Washington Introduces New Bill To Recognize And Encourage Blockchain

• Toshendra Kumar Sharma
• February 14, 2019

The development around Blockchain technology seems to be buzzing the world every day. There isn’t a day when you would not hear people talking about this technology. The blockchain is one of the most significant technological revolutions that the world is talking about.  2009 was the year when the world got to know about DLT or Blockchain technology. It was after this that different companies and nations started to explore different avenues of Blockchain technology and how we can develop the application based on this system. Washington has also introduced a bill that promotes the use of Blockchain technology. Read ahead to know more about this news.

 

What Is Blockchain Technology?

The blockchain is a distributed ledger technology, all the information in the ledger is stored in chronological order. By this we mean, every data or information exchange on this platform is time-stamped.

 

An essential feature that Blockchain has to offer is peer-to-peer connect and decentralization which makes easy for the two parties to communicate with each other without relying on the third party. There is no third party validation required for the same. It eventually saves time and money, thus ensuring that the entire exchange takes place without consuming much of time.

 

What Benefits Does This Technology Hold For Us?

Blockchain usage and application has still not reached mass acceptance. It is still not comprehensible by the common man and this the reason that we are seeing many training centers and research institutes surging so that Blockchain gains widespread acceptance.

 

Since tracking of data becomes easy with Blockchain, this technology finds usage in supply chain management, information, and provenance. All these aspects make Blockchain a versatile technology which can be used in different industries. From academics to healthcare, retail to finance, there is hardly any industry left which does not use Blockchain technology.

 

On the related note, when it comes to research in this field, we have seen many new initiatives and regulation formulating that will help in the overall development of Blockchain technology by removing its drawbacks.

 

Apart from the establishment of research and training institutes, there is a need for regulation that can govern and regulate the Blockchain application. Nations are trying to formulate regulatory bills that will help in making Blockchain a full-proof technology.

 

What Is Washington Doing?

 

The Washington State Senate came up with a bill in January 2019, which amends the current legislation and at the same time, it also encourages the development of DLT. With this bill, Blockchain-enabled digital signatures and licenses will be codified. It will provide legal recognition to enforce these standards.

What is the new bill all about?

 

SB 5638 was introduced on January 25th, 2019. This bill will recognize the validity of DLT or Distributed Ledger Technology or Blockchain as we popularly know. SB 5638 is an amendment and addition to the current act, the “Washington Electronic Authentication Act.” This new bill will revise the definition and purpose and construction section of the revising the Washington Electronic Authentication Act.

 

At present, the act facilitates commerce by a reliable electronic message and that the digital signatures are not denied legal recognition. The new bill will also provide a voluntary licensing mechanism for digital signature certification.

 

With this new bill, we will have a formulated and structure mechanism approving and motivating the use of Blockchain technology.

 

Presently, Washington State is the hub for the technology giant, and it has companies like Amazon, Microsoft headquartered here. It also has companies like Facebook and Google present here. With all these giant companies placed here and promotion of Blockchain technology here, we can soon see it impacting other nations as well.

The state is also developing Blockchain with companies like Storm X, NEM, Stably and other newbies which are developing the course of action of Blockchain technology in the times to come.

With the legalization and regulation of Blockchain technology, we will have state promoting implementation of Blockchain and creating a favorable ecosystem of growth for companies.

 

Wrapping Up

The Blockchain is not only the technology that the world is talking today but its also a technology that will be here in the future as well. It has paved the gateway of opportunities for not only the established companies but at the same time, and it also paves the way for opportunities of growth for companies in the future.