The Blockchain Bill That Doesn’t Mention Blockchain: U.K. Leads The Digital Space Race In Trade

This week the most important law you’ve never heard of came into force in the U.K. The Electronic Trade Documents Act powers commenced on the 20^th of September 2023. The U.K. is the first G7 nation to pass such legislation.

The law transforms a paper bill of lading into a digital asset. A bill of lading is a bearer instrument for the consignment of goods on paper. As a digital asset, it requires no “wet ink” signatures, replacing them with digital signatures. This is similar to dematerialized securities like stock certificates which are traded electronically on stock exchanges and available on your favorite brokerage mobile app.