Virginia Sets Stage for Crypto and Blockchain Growth with Passage of Crypto Bill
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The Virginia Senate has passed a landmark bill that would advance and create a better understanding of the blockchain sector in the state. More specifically, the bill would authorize a work group to research crypto mining and the blockchain sector to present recommendations to the state.
Crypto Bill Advances, Work Group to be Inaugurated
Introduced on February 5, the amended Senate Bill No. 339 (SB339) passed with a resounding majority at the Virginia House of Delegates. Ninety-seven members voted in favor, only one Senator was against, and two entirely abstained from the process.
The bill specifically exempts crypto miners from obtaining money transmitter licenses and restricts targeted ordinances to foster a conducive environment for the crypto sector. Senator Saddam Azlan Salim initially proposed the bill.
“No license under this chapter shall be required of any person engaging in-home digital asset 37 mining, digital asset mining, or digital asset mining business activities, as those terms are defined in § 38 15.2-2288.9.”
With the passing, the bill authorizes the Bureau of the Financial Institutions of the State Corporation Commission to create a dedicated working group to study and research all things crypto.
The work group will conclude its research by November 1, 2024. The group will present the summary of its study to the governor and the Virginia General Assembly before the first day of 2025 at the latest.
The task group will be made up of 13 members, all residing in the state of Virginia. It will comprise five members from the Senate, five from the House of Delegates, two blockchain experts, and an individual from the local government.
Favorable Legislation for Businesses
The state of Virginia has a history of passing crypto-friendly bills. In 2022, the state unanimously passed a groundbreaking banking bill that allowed banks to provide crypto custody services.
More recently, a senate committee recommended a $39K fund allocation for the blockchain and AI commissions tasked with studying and making useful recommendations to the state on both technologies.
Despite the successes achieved at the state, the story is different at the federal level. Last month, the Federal Reserve’s plan to float a Digital Dollar was met with severe roadblocks as five Senators demanded a central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) ban.
Senator Ted Cruz, Sen. Ted Budd, and others introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in a bid to throw a spanner in the Feds plan to float the digital dollar.
“A CBDC would open the door for the federal government to surveil and control the spending habits of all Americans.
Any push to establish a CBDC must be confronted and stopped, and that’s why I’m proud to join Senator Cruz’s effort to do just that,” Budd explained.
The legislation challenges the Feds’ authority to implement the CBDC. Cruz specifically refers to the CBDC as “government-controlled programmable money” that could lead to the infringement on the financial privacy of US citizens.
