The Virginia Senate in the United States has approved a groundbreaking bill that establishes a workgroup dedicated to studying the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem and providing recommendations to foster the growth of this technology. On February 5, Virginia lawmakers introduced Senate Bill No. 339 to gather suggestions on promoting and expanding blockchain technology, digital asset mining, and cryptocurrency within the state. The bill was passed by the Virginia House of Delegates on March 4, with 97 members in favor, one opposing, and two abstaining from voting.
Senator Saddam Azlan Salim proposed the bill on January 9, with the aim of exempting miners from the requirement of obtaining money transmitter licenses and prohibiting targeted ordinances. The newly formed crypto workgroup will consist of 13 members, including five from the Senate, five from the House of Delegates, two non-legislative citizen members from the blockchain industry, and one non-legislative citizen representing the local government. The group has been given a deadline of November 1, 2024, to complete all studies related to the cryptocurrency ecosystem and share their recommendations no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Although other US states, such as New York and Florida, rank higher in terms of promoting different aspects of cryptocurrency, Virginia is home to one of the largest communities of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) investors. According to a report by CoinGecko, internet users from California account for 43% of all Bitcoin and Ethereum web traffic searches on the crypto tracking website. Other states with a significant interest in these two cryptocurrencies include Illinois and Washington, followed by Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Georgia, and Arizona.
In a recent proposal, Virginia sought to allocate a yearly general fund of $22,048 and $17,192, respectively, to the newly formed commissions on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency in the state. In related news, the owner of a seven-trait CryptoPunk Seedphrase has partnered with Sotheby’s, a renowned auction house, in the field of non-fungible tokens (NFT) collection.