Regulatory Considerations for Smart Contracts in the USA

The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal regulation of smart contracts in the United States of America. A smart contract is a completely new phenomenon for both Russian and foreign law, presented in the form of a computer code that automatically executes all or parts of the agreement and placed on a platform being built using blockchain or distributed registry technology. The author analyzes US law to determine whether smart contracts can be deemed enforceable legal agreements under contract law in the United States, and whether they satisfy the elements of the contract under the United States contract law. The purpose of research is to analyze the legal regulation of smart contracts of the various US states to identify existing approaches to the definition of a smart contract and its legal nature. The subject is the US legislation and the legislation of the states providing the legal regulation of civil law relations related to the use of smart contracts and blockchain technology. Results. Based on the analysis of the legislation of the states, which have included in their statutes the legal definition of a smart contract and blockchain, the author has identified two points of view on the definition and legal nature of a smart contract. The difference of approaches to the definition of a smart contract and the legal nature underlying the accepted definitions indicates the lack of a uniform legal concept of smart contracts in the United States, which would include a combination of technical and legal features inherent in this phenomenon. As a result, there may be increased pressure on the certain states with the aim of passing statutes which would provide uniform definitions reflecting the development of blockchain and smart contracts.