Bitcoin in the Buckeye State: Ohio Eyes Its Own Crypto Reserve

After the house in Ohi Last week adopted House Bill 116With the exception of the owners of cryptocurrencies than smaller tax burdens, Ambassador Steve Demetriou (R-Ohio) said the next step was to establish a Bitcoin state reserve.

Another account, House Bill 18Known as the Ohio -Strategic Cryptic Law, it would allow the state treasurer to invest up to 10% of certain public funds in the CRIPTO currency “high capitalization”.

“I introduced House Bill 18, which is still on the committee,” Demetriou said Decipher in an interview. “It’s the next step in my mind – and in the thoughts of many advocates – to improve the legislation on digital property.”

Introduced in February, HB 18, like HB 116, does not refer to Bitcoin separately. However, the provision on the account determines that the treasurer can only invest in a digital asset that is “a product that traces on the stock market and has an average market capitalization of at least $ 750 billion”-which means only acceptable property at this point is Bitcoin, which has a market cap of exceeding 2 trillion dollars.

Demetriou is optimistic about Bitcoin’s future in Ohi, but admitted that more advocacy and public education are still needed.

“It’s still hard to predict how things will go through how time goes by and the bill moves forward, but I’m not giving up,” he said. “I will continue to introduce it again if necessary, as long as I am in legislative power.”

Now passing the Ohio Senate Committee, the Blockchain Basics Law, HB 116 aims to formalize regulations around Blockchain and digital assets in the Ohi Law, at the same time mitigating the regulatory loads of miners and users of cryptocurrencies. For Demetriou and other advocates, this is the fundamental step towards positioning ohija as a leader in digital finances and an introduction to more ambitious efforts, including the creation of a state bitcoin spare.

However, although the goal of Bitcoin, Demetriou said that the account had intentionally focused on “digital property” and not Bitcoin.

“I don’t think we want to choose winners and losers in our legislation,” he said. “This account referred to the digital mining of assets, blockchain and establishing the definition in the revised Ohio cod for blockchain, digital assets and crypto currency.”

Instead, he said, Hb 116introduced in February, it is intended to protect the owner of digital assets from difficult alignment requirements, especially for small transactions.

“This was a wider account to turn wheels and allow this legislative body and future-how would the regulations of the healthy sense be created in the industry,” he said.

Although it remains to be seen whether the HB 116 will reach the desk of the governor Dewine, Demetriou is optimistic about his chances to be approved and signed into the law.

“In Ohi, since the last General Assembly, when I started introducing crypto, digital assets and Bitco’s home legislation, we saw the real need for education and the awareness of the importance of digital assets in the future of our economy,” he said. “I am excited to see that many of my colleagues accept this reality and I hope that I will pass it through the state senate and on the desk of the governor to become a law.”

Asked about the growing acceptance of the Crypto currency in the United States, Demetriou said that it was time for the government to align with the will of the people.

“Nearly 2 million Ohioan has a digital property. My point is that we have to follow their leadership. They showed us that it is not going anywhere,” he said. “This assets will be crucial for the future of our economy. Millions of people around the world, USA, and here in Ohi possess them. We have to accept this reality and follow the leadership of our voters.”

Added Demetriou, “People spoke.”

Edited Andrew Hayward