Crypto industry helps write, and pass, its own age
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - The debate took less than four minutes. In the Florida House last month, legislators swiftly gave final approval to a Bill that makes it easier to buy and sell cryptocurrency, eliminating a threat from a law intended to curb money laundering.
One of the few pauses in the action came when two House members stood up to thank crypto industry "stakeholders" for teaming with state officials to write a draft of the Bill.
"Whether you're Binance or Ethereum, Dogecoin or Bitcoin, this is a great Bill," said Representative John Snyder (Republican), Palm Beach.
Shortly afterwards, the House voted unanimously to pass the measure. The Senate followed, sending the Bill to Governor Ron DeSantis for his signature after 75 seconds of deliberations.
Florida's warm embrace of the cryptocurrency agenda is just the tip of an aggressive industry-led push to position states as crypto-friendly beachheads. Across the United States, crypto executives and lobbyists are helping to draft Bills to benefit the fast-growing industry, then pushing lawmakers to adopt these made-to-order laws.
The effort is part of an emerging national strategy by the crypto industry, in the absence so far of comprehensive federal regulatory demands, to work state by state to engineer a more friendly legal system.
Lobbyists are aiming to clear the way for the continued explosive growth of cryptocurrency companies. Many states are racing to satisfy the wish lists from crypto companies and their lobbyists, betting that the industry can generate new jobs.
But some consumer advocates worry that this aim-to-please effort could leave investors and businesses more vulnerable to the scams and risky practices that have plagued crypto's early growth.
In Florida, the new money-transmission legislation emerged from a months-long collaboration between Representative Vance Aloupis Jr. (Republican), South Miami, and Mr Samuel Armes, who is starting a cryptocurrency investment firm, Tortuga Venture Fund.
Similar teamwork has been on display in Wyoming, North Carolina, Illinois, Mississippi, Kentucky and other states, according to a New York Times review of state legislative proposals and interviews with legislators and their industry allies.
At least 153 pieces of cryptocurrency-related legislation were pending this year in 40 states and Puerto Rico, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. While it was unclear how many were influenced by the crypto industry, some Bills have used industry-proposed language almost word for word.
