New Hampshire’s Bitcoin MSB Exemption Clears First Vote

Lawmakers in New Hampshire have superior a proposed regulation that might exempt bitcoin merchants within the state from cash transmitter necessities.

The invoice, HB 436, was handed within the New Hampshire House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 185-170. With the passage, the measure now strikes to the state Senate for additional consideration. Public data presently don’t point out when the New Hampshire Senate will take up the invoice.

Specifically, HB 436 seeks to exempt digital currency customers from having to register as cash service companies, whereas additionally creating a proper definition for “virtual currency” underneath state regulation.

According to a draft textual content of the invoice, the exemption applies to “persons conducting business using transactions conducted in whole or in part in virtual currency”.

The invoice was sponsored by Rep. Barbara Biggie, a former Western Union worker, and co-sponsored Rep. Keith Ammon, a bitcoin early adopter and libertarian activist in New Hampshire. The invoice was first launched in January, shifting out of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee on 16th February.

HB 436 stands in distinction with New York’s BitLicense, formalized in 2015, which added new compliance layers underneath the state’s monetary laws for companies dealing in digital currencies.

The invoice’s development is the most recent signal that state legislatures across the US are shifting shortly on new legal guidelines associated to the tech.

Just this week, lawmakers in Maine put forward a proposal to create a fee that might research the veracity of blockchain-based elections. The purpose, in accordance with the measure filed, is to see whether or not the tech can enhance transparency whereas additionally aiding the accuracy of paper-based votes.

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