From money transmitter licenses and utility tokens to blockchain-based records management systems and cryptocurrency tax exemptions, Wyoming’s legislature has been tremendously active in the digital asset space.
Over the last several weeks, the Wyoming legislature has passed five bills related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. ETHNews provides a brief overview of each piece of legislation.
House Bill (HB) No. 19 – The Wyoming Money Transmitter Act-virtual currency exemption.
If and when Governor Matt Mead signs HB19[1], virtual currencies would immediately become exempt from Wyoming's money transmitter laws, which would pave the way for virtual currency exchanges to resume operations in the state.
Coinbase suspended its Wyoming operations[2] in June 2016. At the time, the exchange stated that maintaining "dedicated fiat currency reserves in amount equal to the aggregate face value of all funds held on behalf of customers" would be "impractical, costly, and inefficient."
HB19 defines virtual currency as "any type of digital representation of value that: (A) is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account or store of value; and (B) is not recognized as legal tender by the United States government."
Votes
- On February 19, 2018, the Wyoming House unanimously passed HB19.
- On March 2, 2018, the Wyoming Senate passed the bill with a vote of 28-2.
HB No. 70 – Open blockchain tokens-exemptions (a.k.a. the "Utility Token" bill).
The "Utility Token" bill, HB70[3], also awaits the signature of Governor Mead. If he approves the bill, certain digital assets would immediately be exempted from Wyoming's securities laws.
Basically, there are three types of blockchain-based tokens.
First, there are convertible virtual currencies, like bitcoin, which have been defined as commodities by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission[4] (CFTC).
Second, there are tokens that are marketed and treated as investment opportunities, similar to stocks. These are frequently sold through initial coin offerings (ICOs) and typically trade on secondary markets.
Third, there are tokens that are "utility tokens," meaning that they are made available by a person or group who provides or creates the platform to offer some good or service.
Wyoming's legislature is trying to carve out an exemption for the third variety – these "utility tokens" – which might encourage blockchain-oriented business development in the state.
Votes
- On February 19, 2018, the Wyoming House unanimously passed HB70.
- On March 6, 2018, the Wyoming Senate passed the bill with a vote of 27-3.
- On March 7, 2018, the Wyoming House received HB70 for concurrence and unanimously passed it once again.
HB No. 101 – Electronic corporate records (a.k.a. "The Blockchain Records Bill")
HB101[5] proposes to modify Wyoming's Business Corporations Act to allow for blockchain-based records storage, shareholder management, and shareholder votes. It is strikingly reminiscent of Delaware's Distributed Ledger Shares Bill[6] (SB69), which was signed into law in July 2017. For now, HB101 also awaits Governor Mead's signature, per Open States
