The bill will help fuel blockchain adoption and bring more support for digital currencies
The Virginia Senate has passed a bill creating a workgroup earmarked to study the overall cryptocurrency ecosystem and make suggestions to promote its expansion. Senator Saddam Azlan Salim presented the bill on January 9, which seeks to keep miners from being required to hold money transmitter licenses and forbids targeted regulations.
Lawmakers officially introduced Senate Bill 339 on February 5 to receive recommendations on promoting and growing blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and digital asset mining in Virginia. The Virginia House of Delegates approved the bill on March 4, which saw 97 members vote in favor, with one against and two abstentions.
“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,” reads the bill.
The new crypto work group is made up of 13 members, including five Senators, five House of Delegates members, two nonlegislative citizens from the blockchain industry and one nonlegislative citizen to represent local government.
A deadline of November 1, 2024, has been set for the group to complete studies regarding the cryptocurrency ecosystem and communicate its recommendations “no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.”
A report released by CoinGecko shows that California internet users made up 43% of all Bitcoin and Ethereum web traffic searches on its platform. Other states with a substantial interest in the two cryptos include Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Arizona and Georgia.
A recent proposal in Virginia pursued allocating a yearly general fund of $22,048 and $17,192, respectively, to a pair of newly created commissions on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
