Your Cookies are Disabled! NationalNotary.org sets cookies on your computer to help improve performance and provide a more engaging user experience. By using this site, you accept the terms of our cookie policy. Learn more.

Menu
National Notary Association

Knowledge Center

NV Senate Bill 398

Legislation

State: Nevada
Signed: June 05, 2017

Effective: June 05, 2017
Chapter: 391

Summary

Senate Bill 398 defines "blockchain" technology and clarifies that it is an electronic record under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA).

Affects

Adds a new as yet uncodified section to Chapter 719 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, and amends Sections 719.020 and 719.090.

Changes
  1. Defines "blockchain" as an electronic record of transactions or other data which is: (a) uniformly ordered; (b) redundantly maintained or processed by one or more computers or machines to guarantee the consistency or nonrepudiation of the recorded transactions or other data; and (c) validated by the use of cryptography. 
  2. Recognizes "blockchain" technology as a type of electronic record under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. 
Analysis

"Blockchain" technology has been around for about a decade or so and is the technology behind "bitcoin," a form of digital currency. 

In the hearing on the bill before the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee, Don Tapscott,, author of Blockchain Revolution, was quoted with this description of the blockchain. "The blockchain is basically a distributed database. Think of a giant, global spreadsheet that runs on millions and millions of computers. It’s distributed. It’s open source, so anyone can ... see what’s going on. It’s truly peer to peer; it doesn’t require powerful intermediaries to authenticate or to settle transactions. ... [The blockchain is] an immutable, unhackable distributed database of digital assets. This is a platform for truth, and it’s a platform for trust. The implications are staggering, not just for the financial-services industry but also right across virtually every aspect of society."

Supporters of the bill wanted to legitimize blockchain technology by its specific mentioning in the statute. The NNA wonders why there is a need for bills like this, because blockchain records already meet the definition of "electronic record" under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

Read Senate Bill 398.

The blockchain is basically a distributed database. Think of a giant,
global s
preadsheet that runs on millions and millions of computers.
It’s distributed. It’s open source, so anyone can ... see what’s
going on. It’s truly peer to peer; it doesn’t require powerful
intermediaries to authenticate or to settle transactions. ... [The
 
 
Senate Committee on Judiciary
March
30, 2017
Page
7
block
chain is] an immutable, unhackable distributed database of
digital assets. This is a platform for truth, and it’s a platform for
trust. The implications are staggering, not just for the
financial-
services industry but also right across virtually every
aspe
ct of society.
The blockchain is basically a distributed database. Think of a giant,
global s
preadsheet that runs on millions and millions of computers.
It’s distributed. It’s open source, so anyone can ... see what’s
going on. It’s truly peer to peer; it doesn’t require powerful
intermediaries to authenticate or to settle transactions. ... [The
 
 
Senate Committee on Judiciary
March
30, 2017
Page
7
block
chain is] an immutable, unhackable distributed database of
digital assets. This is a platform for truth, and it’s a platform for
trust. The implications are staggering, not just for the
financial-
services industry but also right across virtually every
aspe
ct of society.
Close