Share this article
Ohio Treasurer Suspends Predecessor's Bitcoin Tax Payment Service
A website launched last year by the U.S. state of Ohio allowing businesses to pay a range of taxes with bitcoin has been taken offline.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 11:31 a.m. Published Oct 3, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
A website launched last year by the U.S. state of Ohio allowing businesses to pay a range of taxes with bitcoin has been taken offline.
Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague announced the decision to immediately suspend OhioCrypto.com on Wednesday at a meeting of the State Board of Deposit, according to an official announcement.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The reason for pulling the service – perhaps temporarily – comes down to how Ohio's third party crypto payments provider, BitPay, is defined under state law, Sprague said.
Sprague took on the mantle of state treasurer in January, since then his office has been "reviewing the creation and operation" of OhioCrypto.com. He now believes the payment method provided by BitPay constitutes a “financial transaction device” under Ohio law and has asked the state's Attorney General for a formal opinion on the matter.
The definition, if confirmed to apply to BitPay, means that the firm's services should have been chosen via a "competitive selection process" and approved by the State Board of Deposit.
Sprague said:
“It is vital that Ohio explores innovative, new technologies and processes that continue to drive Ohio into the future. However, we must make sure any new processes that are implemented, such as OhioCrypto.com, are established in accordance with Ohio law.”
The bitcoin tax service was launched last November by the state treasurer at the time, Josh Mandel, who'd previously expressed an interest in cryptocurrency. It enabled companies in the state to pay a variety of taxes, including tobacco sales tax, employee withholding tax and public utilities tax, with the cryptocurrency.
“Until a formal opinion is issued by the Attorney General, I feel it is prudent to suspend the website,” said Sprague, adding that fewer than 10 companies were paying taxes via the site.
Atlanta-based BitPay offers a service allowing merchants and other organizations to accept payments in cryptocurrencies and automatically converts these to fiat currency.
Ohio seal image via Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Strategy shares register first six-month losing streak since adoption of bitcoin strategy in 2020
Crypto analyst Chris Millas has highlighted an unusually persistent slump in Strategy shares, breaking with past drawdown patterns even as the firm continued accumulating bitcoin.
What to know:
- Strategy shares fell in each of the final six months of 2025, marking the first time since the firm adopted bitcoin in August 2020 as a treasury reserve asset.
- The decline stands out for its persistence, as past selloffs were often followed by sharp rebounds.
- The stock sharply underperformed both bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 despite the firm's continued BTC purchases.
Top Stories
