Fine in New York can be paid with cryptocurrency
2023.01.27 15:31
Fine in New York can be paid with cryptocurrency
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – State agencies would be able to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment for fines, civil penalties, taxes, fees, and other payments imposed by the state under a bill that was presented to the New York State Assembly on January 26.
BRAND NEW: A bill to allow #Crypto as a payment method has been introduced in the New York State Senate.
Democratic Assembly Member Clyde Vanel, who is frequently regarded as a crypto-friendly politician, introduced New York State Assembly Bill A523. For a variety of fees, including “fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations or other amounts, including penalties, special assessments and interest, owed to state agencies,” it permits state agencies to enter into “agreements with persons to provide the acceptance, by offices of the state, of cryptocurrency as a means of payment.”
Although the bill makes it clear that state agencies can legally agree to accept crypto payments and that these agreements should be enforced by the courts, it does not require state agencies to accept crypto payments.
“any form of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency […] including but not limited to, bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash” is the definition of “cryptocurrency” in the bill.
Stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) may or may not be included in this definition, depending on how it is interpreted. On the one hand, stablecoin supply is typically controlled by the issuer rather than cryptography.
However, the bill does acknowledge that some cryptocurrencies have an “issuer,” and it states that if the cryptocurrency’s issuer charges an additional fee, agencies may charge the payor.
The bill must be approved by the Assembly and Senate of New York and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul for it to become law.
Cryptocurrency is frequently portrayed as a threat by the state government of New York. New York became the first state to pass a law that outlawed nearly all cryptocurrency mining in November 2022.
Additionally, it has been criticized for the stringent “BitLicense” that all crypto exchanges are required to obtain. The New York City mayor argued in April 2022 that the BitLicense law should be repealed.
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