Ohio Becomes Latest US State to Legally Recognize Blockchain Data

The U.S. state of Ohio has joined Arizona in legally recognizing data stored and transacted on blockchain.

AccessTimeIconAug 7, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 9:35 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Ohio has become the latest U.S. state to legally recognize data stored and transacted on a blockchain.

The news comes after lawmakers from the state introduced a bill in May that sought to treat blockchain data and smart contracts as electronic records in a bid to provide safe harbor for the emerging technology.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • Part of the wording from that bill (SB 300) was later incorporated into legislation (SB200), which was approved by the state's senate in June and finally signed by the governor into Ohio law on Friday, according to a release published Monday.

    As passed, Ohio's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act has been amended from the prior version to state that "a record or contract that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic record."

    Electronic signatures secured through blockchain technology are also considered to have the same legal standing as any other electronic signatures defined under the act.

    However, initially proposed language to amend the law to recognize smart contracts has been omitted from the passed bill.

    SB 300 originally suggested making it clear that electronic contracts can't be denied legal effect or enforceability just "because the contract contains a smart contracts term" – wording would have cleared the way for smart contracts to be used for legal documents in the state.

    Elsewhere in the U.S., the state of Arizona has also passed a bill recognizing the legal status of data stored and transacted on a blockchain, while politicians in California have been working on a similar piece of legislation since February.

    However, the states of Florida and Nebraska have both postponed their proposed bills indefinitely.

    Ohio flag image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.