Colorado will start accepting cryptocurrency for tax payments | TheHill – The Hill

Colorado will soon become the first state in the country to accept cryptocurrency for tax payments and may expand crypto to other state businesses like drivers license and hunting license fees too.

Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed the Digital Token Act, which will allow Colorado residents to pay their taxes with cryptocurrency by this summer. In a recent interview with CNBC, Polis explained that the states expenses are all in dollars, so payments made with crypto would be converted back to dollars by an intermediary.

We are getting a payment provider to accept crypto equivalent and deposit the dollars into the states treasury for that amount. It is kind of like credit card payments, with the bonus that there are no returned payments, said Polis in a tweet.

Crypto is expected to be expanded in use in Colorados government, with Polis saying driver's licenses, hunting licenses and other fees will also accept crypto as payment.

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The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) describes cryptocurrency as a digital or virtual currency that is not issued or backed by the U.S. government or any other government or central bank. That means crypto isnt subject to things like transaction fees or geography and can be completely anonymous.

Polis has been a big proponent of crypto, telling Wired last monthcrypto can be more convenient for people to use and sets a symbolic message that it is in fact a validated form of payment in the state like credit cards.

Under Polis administration, Colorado established its first chief blockchain architect, Thaddeus Batt, as part of the states Blockchain Council. His role includes expanding blockchain technology within Colorado government agencies, including policy and regulatory clarity, banking services and support, taxation of digital assets and more.

Colorado isnt the only state integrating crypto into state business. TheNCSL says 33 states and Puerto Rico had pending legislation in 2021 and 17 states enacted legislation or adopted resolutions related to crypto.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) recently announced he was converting his first paycheck into Bitcoin and Ethereum via Coinbase, the countrys largest cryptocurrency exchange. Filings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also indicated that national retail giant Walmart may also be planning to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of nonfungible tokens, known as NFTs.

The use of crypto prompted the FBI to form a new team that is dedicated to the matter, appointing prosecutor Eun Young Choi, as the agencys first director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET).

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Colorado will start accepting cryptocurrency for tax payments | TheHill - The Hill