A number of blockchain bills brought into the New York Legislature

A number of blockchain bills brought into the New York Legislature. With the likes of bitcoin and the blockchain becoming mainstream topics to discuss, there has now been a spotlight placed upon regulators and the lawmakers in order to put in place rules and regulations that cover these new topics.

It is also important that the right parties know about the capabilities of blockchain and what an effect this technology may have going forward into the future for how things are done.

At the moment for example in the ICO world, there are a lot of cowboys out there scamming, whether it is through a phishing attack or by directly hacking into an ICO’s site or by simply writing a white paper and conducting an ICO for a project which they have no intention of ever starting.

This is why it should come as no surprise to learn that in New York, four separate bills have been introduced. The main basis for these four bills is to help encourage the research that looks into different uses for this blockchain government in terms of the state’s government.

These laws were proposed by Assemblyman Clyde Vanel and if they are successfully passed into law, then there would be the establishment of legal language to be used when dealing with this technology (something which was also introduced in a similar manner in the state of Arizona earlier on in 2017) falling under the state law.

There would also be scope for the creation of studies about how this technology may be applied in both local and state elections, such as verifying tallies of votes.

The first of the bills will look to add in some sections to the existing technology law in New York that has a definition for blockchain technology and smart contracts. It also looks to create a legal comprehension of blockchains that have stored signatures.

The 2nd of these bills will look to get the state board of elections to research and evaluate how blockchain technology can be used in order to keep the records of voters protected, as well as the election results.

It aims to have this research conducted over the course of a single year and then for there to be the production of a report that will explain if this blockchain technology actually has the ability to either prevent or cut back on voter fraud, as well as improving the level of cybersecurity when it comes to voting platforms that are digitally-based, to keep better records of voters, as well as sharing the results of elections in a more efficient manner.

The 3rd bill also requests the conduction of a study and a task force to be set up in order to see if blockchain can be used to keep records stored and allow information to be shared more easily by the state government. This report would be needed by no later than the start of the year in 2019.

The 4th bill proposed the creation of a task force for digital currency, which would look at the impact these cryptocurrencies were having on the financial markets in New York.

This is certainly something to keep an eye on.