Washington State is home to one of the largest populations of crypto miners in the world, and thanks to its abundance of cheap hydroelectric power, this population continues to grow. Back in 2016, the Washington State Senate promised to make the state a crypto and blockchain friendly jurisdiction, with sweeping bills and reforms that would make it easier for firms in the industry to set up.
Thanks to generous power prices and contracts, miners quickly flocked to the area. However, Washington state has just raised a bill that will finally recognize the validity of blockchains and information stored on them in a bid to draw in a new wave of blockchain related firms.
Updating Old Authentication Acts
Way back in 1994, Washington State passed a bill called the “Washington Electronic Authentication Act”, which essentially meant that any document with a digital or electronic signature is legally binding. At the time this type of signature was very rare and the bill was years ahead of its time. Senate Bill 5638 is a simple update to the Washington Electronic Authentication Act and will mean that any digital signature or time stamp from a blockchain or any form of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) will also be legally binding.
Washington Dishing Out Bad News for Miners
At a time when crypto miners didn’t need any more bad news, several counties in Washington State have decided to put an end to the crypto mining party. Local residents have become fed up with the incessant humming of the mining farms, local grids are reaching capacity, and old infrastructure can no longer handle the increasing load that miners are placing on them.
Launching a Blockchain Innovation Campus
In the heart of Douglas County sits a brand new blockchain innovation campus, designed to be a research lab for the next generation of blockchain projects and DLT. Companies and researchers operating out of Douglas will be ecstatic to hear about the new bill that the state senate is trying to pass, as it legitimizes their work and will expand their options when it comes to funding rounds and selling the end product.
New Hampshire Also Passing Bills
On the other side of the country, New Hampshire is also passing new bills through its senate. While New Hampshire isn’t looking to legalize blockchain technology, it’s looking to get approval for a bill it tried to pass back in 2015. New Hampshire wants to be able to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for taxes and fees. In 2015 the bill was shot down early on in the process, but this revived attempt appears to have the power to make it all the way into law.
With this new bill, Washington State is helping to position itself as a blockchain hub that welcomes a wide range of firms from the industry. Hubs like this are becoming increasingly popular for blockchain and crypto firms, and the move is likely to result in numerous firms opting to move operations to the blockchain and crypto friendly state.
