𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙤𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝘾𝙊𝙨

𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞. 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞” 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲.

𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒍
Several bills that recognize bitcoin and other cryptos as currencies have been making their way in the Arizona State Legislature. Two of them, SB1091 and SB1145, will regulate income tax payments with cryptocurrency. One of them has already passed the Senate Finance Committee in mid-January. Another bill (HB2601) is expected to regulate crowdfunding and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Its first reading in the House of Representatives is scheduled for June 2, and a second reading will take place a month later.

“We are sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future,” Representative Jeff Weninger (R) told Fox News. He believes that in the next 5 to 10 years crypto technology will change the world the way the internet did.

The income tax legislation he co-sponsored passed the Finance Committee with a 4-3 vote in mid-January. Weninger insists that the new law will make it easier for people to pay their taxes, without opening their “normal wallets”. “Being able to do it in the middle of the night, being able to do it at home, while watching TV… I think in a few years this isn’t even going to be a question”, he said.

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔
According to a study by the University of Cambridge, the number of unique active users of cryptocurrency wallets may be up to 5.8 million. Phoenix businessman Jack Biltis, who is one of them, believes this is the way of the future. He told Fox:
"𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚙𝚊𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚘𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝟺𝟶𝟷𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚘𝚒𝚗."
Biltis, who has a payroll company, is convinced that the new crypto technology will replace “what we have now with the inefficient credit cards and banking systems”. Cheap and instantaneous money transfers are possible with cryptocurrency, he noted. Jack Biltis wants Arizona to be a state that encourages these technologies.

Others are not so sure about the idea to pay taxes with crypto. Arizona State Senate Minority Leader Steve Farley (D) thinks that all taxpayers will be put at risk because of the volatile nature of bitcoin. He warns that if the new legislation is passed the state will be responsible for exchanging the cryptos. Farley claims that “certain special interests get advantage” with such amendments to the tax code and “the rest of us… get screwed”. In his opinion, taxpayers should pay only in fiat currency:
"𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚙𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚡𝚎𝚜."
“It’s always a little scary and thrilling at the beginning. It was with the Internet”, business owner Jack Biltis says, however. “The world is going to look so different in 20 years”, he adds, “and the people that are going to be truly successful are those that embrace it now”.

𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔
Most U.S. states have yet to adopt comprehensive legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies but several have taken positive steps. These include Kansas and Tennessee, where authorities have issued memorandums indicating that money transmitter licenses will not be required to sell digital coins. According to Bitcoin Market Journal, the situation is similar in Texas, where bitcoin companies are not licensed when running a custodial exchange for in-state customers.

Montana has no money transmission laws and there is no indication that bitcoin regulations will be imposed in the future. In June New Hampshire Governor John Sununu signed a bill that exempted anyone who uses “virtual currency” from registering, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. The state effectively deregulated bitcoin after previous legislation had targeted cryptocurrencies with tougher regulations.

If adopted, the law to legalize cryptocurrency payments for taxes in Arizona will be country’s first. A similar legislation was voted down in New Hampshire two years ago with concerns like those expressed by the Senate Minority Leader in Phoenix. State Representative Eric Schleien (R), who introduced the NH bill, explained there would be no cost and no risk to the state, as conversion to dollars would be automatic to eliminate concerns about crypto volatility. If Arizona lawmakers approve the proposed amendments, the Grand Canyon State may start collecting taxes in bitcoin within two years.

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞? 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰.