Italy’s Senate has reportedly approved an amendment regarding blockchain industry regulation which is known as the “Decreto semplificazioni.”

According to a published article on the Senate’s website, the amendment includes descriptions of what it considers to be distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts.

It is reportedly the first ever official move by the Italian government to regulate the blockchain space. The “Decreto semplificazioni” amendment was approved by its Senate Committees of Constitutional Affairs and Public Works on January 23.

The passed amendment now needs two approvals from Italy’s Parliament before it can come into effect as law.

Cointelegraph reported Fulvio Sarzana, a blockchain expert from a working group started by the Ministry of Economic Development, as saying that he saw the move as Italy’s way of trying to legalize DLT transactions, and in a manner which eliminates the middleman.

Italy has been stepping up government participation in regional blockchain-related collaboration efforts. Last month, it joined seven other southern EU nations in adopting a call for assistance on promoting blockchain technology in the region.

In September 2018, Italy became the 27th country to join a declaration creating a European Blockchain Partnership for the development of cross-border digital services, and provide better security and privacy standards.