Chain News by Thebittimes.Com

The EU’s Data Act could introduce “kill switch” requirements for smart contracts, raising questions about how decentralized projects would handle such a scenario. The Data Act — a contentious piece of European Union legislation that includes a clause requiring the ability to terminate smart contracts — has been approved by the European Parliament. If introduced, the legislation will require a smart contract to have a “kill switch.” In a Nov. 9 press release, the parliament announced that the legislation was passed with 481 votes in favor and 31 against. The next step for it to become law is to gain the approval of the European Council. In its current form, the Data Act stipulates that smart contracts must have the capability to be “interrupted and terminated,” and it mandates controls that allow for the resetting or halting of the contract. The stipulation appears to be a significant departure from the blockchain’s foundational ethos of decentralization. How such kill switch es would...

The lawmaker said the regulation will need to be both “pragmatic” and “proportionate” to ensure economic growth is maximized. The United Kingdom could lay out digital asset regulation within 12 months a British lawmaker claimed, saying the country wants to capitalize on the benefits that blockchain can bring to the private sector and economy. In an April 17 CNBC interview, Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the U.K. Treasury said the long-term vision is to “let firms make the most of the opportunities from crypto assets” with sound crypto regulation. For the first time in “decades,” Griffith claimed the U.K. government is now well-positioned to regulate crypto in a “pragmatic” and “proportionate” manner and appeared to make reference to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union: “I think over the next 12 or so months is the window. We've got this great asset in the U.K., we've got control back of a rule book — not something the U.K. has had for decades — so we've got...