In the US state of Tennessee, blockchain-based smart contracts have gained legal recognition. This new decree was signed earlier this week, being one of the most important recent development in the industry.

Smart contracts are intrinsically linked to blockchain technology but, despite this, the technology is still in the early phases, being susceptible to bugs and errors.

No one will dismiss the great potential smart contracts have. Although they are nowhere near being perfect, it is very obvious what kind of capability they have. Many new use cases for this technology are being continuously developed. Nevertheless, one has to ask himself if these contracts have any legal significance. In Tennessee, they now do.

Smart Contracts Given Legal Power in New Bill

The new law recognizing the legal status of smart contracts and blockchain was signed this week, making them legitimate in the entire state. The fact that Governor Bill Haslam approved this bill is in itself is a rather unexpected progress. This also makes Tennessee the first US state to officially legalize such technology through a legal document. This development has been an ongoing process for several months. Evading legal loopholes and the like is always a somewhat difficult when it concerns blockchain.

But Tennessee will not be the only state to legalize smart contracts. Nebraska and Florida officials are also considering to implement similar measures. Legalizing data storage on a blockchain is a notable progress for the industry. In theory, it doesn’t require a law or bill, but it’s still good to have one nevertheless. Now, everyone can use blockchain technology as they wish without having to worry about any legal ambiguity that might have caused them problems.

With the legal power that has been bestowed upon smart contracts, a fascinating situation arises. It may lead to the overall improvement of the code of smart contracts, and motivate developers to bring to perfection this technology faster. But until this technology matures, legal acknowledgement is not a great problem. It is nice to see not all US states have a dismissive attitude towards blockchain and its applications.