NH Lawmakers Advance Proposed Bitcoin MSB Exemption

Legislators in New Hampshire have advanced a bill aimed at carving out regulatory exceptions for certain bitcoin businesses, public records show.

As reported by CoinDesk last month, New Hampshire's HB 436 seeks to create a regulatory exception for persons "using transactions conducted in whole or in part in virtual currency" who may otherwise be considered money transmitters under current laws.

Sponsored by state rep Barbara Biggie – with Representative Keith Ammon as a co-sponsor – the bill was passed along to the NH House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. On 16th February, according to LegiScan, an 11-9 majority of the committee approved the bill to advance to the House floor for a vote, the date of which is not immediately apparent.

The bill also seeks to update the state's definitions for virtual currency with a revised version that would read:

"'Virtual currency' means a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded and functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or a store of value, but does not have legal tender status as recognized by the US government."

Despite the movement, however, there's no guarantee that the bill will pass.

Legislators in the state have expressed a degree of aversion to the tech in the past, killing a bill proposed last year that, if passed, would have allowed state citizens to pay their taxes in bitcoin.

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