Tennessee enacted a law yesterday that recognizes “the legal authority to use blockchain technology and smart contracts in conducting electronic transactions.” Under the new legislation, “A signature that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic signature.”
With respect to smart contracts, the law defines it as “an event-driven program, that runs on a distributed, decentralized, shared, and replicated ledger and that can take custody over and instruct transfer of assets on that ledger.” And the law states that “no contract relating to a transaction shall be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because that contract contains a smart contract term.”
Arizona became the first U.S. state to legalize smart contracts, in 2017.
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David Zaslowsky
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David Zaslowsky is partner in the Litigation Department of Baker McKenzie's New York office. He helps companies solve complex commercial disputes in arbitration and litigation, especially those involving cross-border issues and Section 1782 discovery. David has a degree in computer science and, as a result, has worked on numerous technical-related disputes, including, most recently, those involving blockchain and artificial intelligence. In April 2025, Attorney Intel named David one of the top 25 blockchain lawyers in the country. He is the editor of the Firm's blockchain blog and co-editor of the firm's International Litigation & Arbitration Newsletter. David has been included for a number of years in the Chambers USA Guide and Chambers Global Guide for his expertise in international arbitration. He also sits as an arbitrator and is on the roster of arbitrators for a number of arbitral institutions. David sits on the Board and chairs the governance committee of the New York International Arbitration Center, and is a founding member of the International Arbitration Club of New York. For over 35 years, he has written and spoken often on the subjects of arbitration and international litigation.