Testimony for California AB 2658 (the “Blockchain Bill”) Before Assembly Committee of Privacy and Consumer Protection at the State Capitol on April 3, 2018

It was Tuesday morning. I have set the alarm to 8 am PT. Greg wanted me to meet him in San Francisco at 10:30am so we could carpool to Sacramento. Google Maps told me to start driving at 9am to be there at 10 am. I listened, partly with a deep desire to be there on time and partly with a conscious effort to avoid any San Francisco hills.

Calderon introduced AB 2658 to expand California’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) to include a record “created, generated, sent, communicated, received or stored” via blockchain technology. UETA allows commerce to be conducted electronically, recognizing the validity of “electronic records” and “electronic signatures.” However, electronic records and electronic signatures secured through a blockchain have not been recognized.