On May 30, 2018, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law Senate Bill 269: An Act Related to Blockchain Business Development, which became effective on July 1. The Act is designed to stimulate economic development in Vermont through the promotion of blockchain technology. In passing the Act, Vermont joins the limited ranks of other states that have legislatively recognized the potential of blockchain technology to innovate and spur economic opportunity. We anticipate that other states will follow suit and adopt their own version of blockchain-friendly legislation.

While blockchain may be most widely known as the technology underlying cryptocurrencies, it is, at its core, a system of recording and confirming transactions through a decentralized, shared ledger or database. The decentralized verification ability of blockchain provides for greater security and the fact that the ledgers are immutable creates widespread opportunities for the application of blockchain in many contexts other than just cryptocurrencies.