California is poised to become the latest state to implement a law clarifying the legal status of blockchain smart contracts with the passage of Assembly Bill 2658, which, if signed by Governor Jerry Brown, would provide a statutory definition for blockchain technology, expand the definitions of electronic record and electronic signature to include records and signatures secured through blockchain, add "smart contract" to the legal definition of a contract, and stipulate that information secured through blockchain is rightfully owned by the creator for purposes of interstate or foreign commerce. In Japan, the city of Tsukuba is adopting a new blockchain-based online voting system designed to prevent tampering with votes, maintain voter confidentiality and achieve better voting efficiency. And South Korea recently announced an additional six blockchain pilot projects − including use cases for livestock supply chain management and customs clearance − that will double the total number already sponsored by the government and will correspond with an additional $9 million budget increase for the year 2019.

Major industry players are also increasing investments in blockchain technology, including a major U.S. technology company and web search engine, which announced that it has added Ethereum to its BigQuery service, giving users new analytical and visualization capabilities on large-scale blockchain data sets. Another major global technology firm recently announced a new addition to its stable of self-sovereign identity products through a collaboration with Hu-manity.co to produce an enterprise version of the latter's #My31 app – designed to engender individuals with stronger data ownership rights – with the goal of resolving the economic and informational disparities that exist between data subjects and buyers. Two more major global technology firms recently announced a joint venture for a blockchain-based supply chain proof of concept solution based on track-and-trace technology. And a "Big Four" accounting and consulting firm recently published a white paper detailing a proposed risk and controls framework to ensure blockchain deployments meet an organization's operational, enterprise risk management and internal audit requirements.

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