by Kevin Helms
A bill has been introduced in the U.S. state of New York to allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency payments, including bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. The legislation proposes allowing crypto to be used as “a means of payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges,” and more.
New York State Assembly member Clyde Vanel introduced a bill Thursday that “establishes cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for state agencies,” according to the bill’s description on the New York State Senate website. Assembly Bill A2532 has been referred to the New York State Assembly Committee on Government Operations. According to its summary, the bill:
Establishes that state agencies are allowed to accept cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash as payment.
The bill seeks to amend New York’s state finance law by adding “cryptocurrency as a form of payment.” The legislation defines cryptocurrency as “any form of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank including but not limited to, bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash.”
According to its text, the bill proposes authorizing state agencies to enter into agreements with individuals or entities to accept cryptocurrency “as a means of payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations or other amounts, including penalties, special assessments and interest, owed to state agencies.”
This week, Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers introduced a similar bill to allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency. She also launched a bill to make bitcoin legal tender in her state.
Do you think this bill will pass and state agencies will be able to accept crypto payments? Let us know in the comments section below.
A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
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