Government of New Hampshire releases report on blockchain following executive order
The findings of a study conducted by a panel with the goal of suggesting laws on digital assets and blockchain as part of an executive order for 2022 have been made public by Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire.
The Commission on Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets reported that the legal and regulatory status of cryptocurrencies and digital assets was “very ambiguous,” which stymied development and resulted in less protection for investors and consumers, according to a Jan. 19 announcement by Sununu. The group suggested that New Hampshire implement a state legislative framework designed to attract blockchain businesses and individuals.
The report, which was delivered to the governor on December 22, claims that the commission took into account the human element when making its recommendations, making reference to the failure of FTX and the subsequent arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO, i.e. “criminal fraud resulting in the loss of billions of dollars of customer assets.” Decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, should be given legal status, money should be allocated to the state’s courts to settle disputes involving blockchain issues, and the banking department should be encouraged to offer “clear, public, and proactive guidance” on how financial institutions should handle digital assets.
According to the research, “New Hampshire should take strong pro-active and public steps to build a better legal infrastructure for sound development of Blockchain technologies and its applications,”
The panel came to the following conclusions:
“The Commission expects that Blockchain technologies will continue to evolve and develop, and become more integrated into our society and economy […] this next phase of development should be accomplished not only through innovations in computer software protocols, but also should be accompanied by improvements in the legal infrastructure that necessarily operates in parallel with these activities.”
The report was described as “comprehensive and timely” by Sununu. California Governor Jerry Brown led efforts to create regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and Kathy Hochul of New York supported a proposal to outlaw cryptocurrency mining operations that do not use 100% renewable energy.
