Wyoming, a state in United States has proposed a bill for classification of cryptocurrencies as stated on official state legislature site.
The bill details distinguishes crypto assets under three categories namely – digital consumer assets, digital securities and virtual currencies. Importantly, the bill says virtual currencies are equivalent to fiat money and will receive same treatment for both assets.
Furthermore, digital assets are defined as,
A representation of economic, property or access rights that is stored in a
computer readable format, and includes digital consumption assets, digital values and virtual currency
Another aspect of bill discusses that banks will serve as qualified custodians in accordance with regulations put in place by the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). Also, on that note the bill authorizes banks to – ‘provide custody services for digital assets pursuant after providing written notice to the commissioner with sixty (60) days‘.
Wyoming and the Blockchain
With the increased popularity of blockchain, Wyoming has embraced the tech with open arms and its legislation will go hand-in-hand with blockchain. The legislators of the state approved a bill that allows startups that operate under this technology to carry out their activities within a regulatory sandbox. Also, this month, they presented a bill that allows corporations to issue blockchain-based tokens that represent shares
Apart from the administration, the state has also created an environment conducive for cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation. Mainly, the industries are benefitted by the recent ‘blockchain law’ which allows banks to offer their services to blockchain companies in the state. In this regard, in the month of December, the Wyoming county of Teton announced a new partnership with online retailer Overstock that targets land records.
What do you think of this bill put forth by Wyoming? Will it be passed and set an example for crypto, blockchain evolution or subjected to scrutiny? Let us know your thoughts in the comment below.
