Despite wide swings in value, bitcoin has seen increased usage in online transactions. And for that reason, Rothfuss and the other co-sponsors of HB26 believe it and other cryptocurrencies deserve a fair shot in the Equality State.

“The legislation we’re providing doesn’t do an awful lot other than try to provide that level playing field,” Rothfuss said. “In my view, it needs to be treated the same as a ruble or a Euro, or any other currency.”

Lindholm said HB26 makes good business sense, given that the current state law has already caused some bitcoin-friendly businesses to pull out of Wyoming.

“That’s actually how I found out about it; I was going through my Facebook feed and a friend from Casper brought it up,” Lindholm said. “A business called Coinbase let them know they could no longer operate in the state because of the regulations.”

Lindholm concedes that the nature of bitcoin may make it difficult to explain to fellow legislators who are unfamiliar with it. But he’s hopeful he can get HB26 past the two-thirds majority threshold needed for successful introduction in the House of Representatives in a budget session.

“I’ve got two minutes to introduce the bill for the introductory vote, but essentially this is about keeping equal opportunities between currencies,” Lindholm said. “A big reason for me pushing this bill is that we don’t want to run businesses, especially emerging technologies, out of Wyoming.”

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