Nevada’s Anti-Crypto Bill Dropped by House After Strong Criticisms

The bill had been tabled by Senator Ohrenschall back in February 2019. The act proposed to regulate businesses and individuals dealing in digital currencies across the state of Nevada and was reportedly inspired by New York State’s BitLicense.

Anti-Crypto Bill Backlash

The proposed bill titled, ‘ULC’s Uniform Regulation for Virtual Currency Business’ (URVCBA) was combined with the ‘Uniform Supplemental Commercial Law for URVCBA’ and proposed together as SB195. Not too long after its announcement, the bill received sharp criticism from cryptocurrency advocates residing in and out of Nevada. Critics argued that the law would negatively affect crypto ownership and cripple future development of the blockchain industry in Nevada. The bill attempted to bring the crypto and blockchain industry under the purview of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to have a unified law for the industry across the state and country. Defending his proposed bill, Congressman James Ohrenschall said that similar bills existed in different states such as Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Ohio. The crypto community, however, labeled the bill as premature and short-sighted. There was a common consensus that it would be too early to bring such legislation to an industry that is still in its early development phase.

Criticisms of SB195

Wendy Stolyarov, who heads the blockchain technology company Filament, feared the bill would harm business and have unintended consequences on the company. She suggested the state either adopt different, superior legislation or return to the existing laws. Stolyarov wrote how the smooth passage of SB398 in 2017 had attracted crypto and blockchain talent to Nevada. However, the approval of SB195 could result in the same community deserting Nevada and flocking to other crypto favorable destinations. The BitLicense crypto regulation passed in New York by the NYSDFS has been similarly criticized for harming crypto businesses in the state. Within the first few weeks of its enforcement, the bill forced several crypto exchanges to shut operations and stop serving NY residents due to the increased legal burden. The passage of a similar law could lead to another exodus of crypto and blockchain startups from Nevada. From the onset, the URVCBA was aimed at regulating businesses and individuals dealing with cryptocurrencies. Do you think regulating crypto should fall under the purview of state and judiciary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.