Ohio’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that incentivises crypto use, such as mining and staking activities, and exempts crypto transactions from capital gains tax. If passed by the Senate, the new laws would exempt crypto transactions that fall below a $200 threshold from requiring capital gains tax. The threshold exemption would encourage using Bitcoin as a form of money. If passed by the Senate, the new laws in Ohio may provide some headway in allowing consumers to use cryptocurrencies as currencies for everyday purchases. The new legislation, House Bill 116, passed with a vote of 70-26. Lawmakers titled the bill the Ohio Blockchain Basics Act. House Bill 116 now has to pass the Senate and then, if passed, has to be signed off by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. The bill has been promoted mainly by Republican Representative Steve Demetriou, who argues that it will make it easier for consumers to use crypto and protect the crypto mining industry from excessive government overreach. Steve Demetriou, House Representative, sponsored the bill in February, allowing the bill to pass the House Technology and Innovation Committee with a vote of 13-0. The bill has now passed the House of Representatives and has a chance to be signed into law. The bill was passed just a day after the Genius Act passed the Senate at the federal level. The Genius Act provides provisions for the stablecoin market to dispel uncertainty for token issuers and provide consumer protections. Demetriou said the new bill allowed Ohio to show the world that it is ready to embrace the new economy and use digital assets. Demetriou further stated that the legislation will enable the growth of blockchain innovations in Ohio. The Republican Representative said he aimed to sponsor common-sense legislation for a technologically advanced innovation. Ohio plans to attract crypto entrepreneurs to the state, enticing them with incentives to bring their assets and capital with them, enriching the state with a wealth of resources that other states have rejected. Time will tell whether such an incentive-based approach to regulation and tax will benefit the local economy. Other states may follow suit if the regulatory incentives prove to be successful. House Bill 116 is quite a unique piece of legislation because it proposes a $200 threshold for tax-free use of cryptocurrencies. The bill is a simple but targeted approach to legislation. This is most likely what Demetriou meant when he said he wanted to sponsor a common-sense bill. The tax incentives aim to lower the burden on consumers so they can feel free to spend their crypto without worrying about reporting every transaction. Crypto mining operations were also featured in the bill. Crypto miners will be allowed to operate mining rigs in residential areas if they adhere to noise restrictions and respect their neighbours. Industrial areas will also be allowed to host mining operations. The bill made specific provisions that protect crypto miners from land rezoning. The bill will ban rezoning projects that affect crypto mining businesses. Crypto miners will be subject to laws that affect similar companies in the state. Miners will be able to dispute any grievances that they face. The bill aims to treat crypto mining like a regular business without creating unnecessary laws for the crypto industry. House Bill 116 comes as other crypto bills are introduced in Ohio. Both the state and federal levels of the American government are debating rules that apply to the crypto industry. Ohio has also proposed a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill allowing the state to invest public funds into Bitcoin. New Hampshire and Arizona have already set a precedent in passing Bitcoin Treasury laws. At the federal level, an ongoing effort is still to pass President Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law. The new rules would allow the US government to redirect seized Bitcoin from criminal proceedings to create a fund for future use. The states of Texas, Florida, and Montana are still seeking laws for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve of their own. Other states may reassess the viability of a reserve treasury if other states successfully implement their own strategies. As a federal politician, Tim Burchett has been essential to implementing President Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve into law. An alignment of state and federal legislation would give blockchain companies a large boost to focus on their businesses and worry less about legislation. Consumers will also benefit from such an alignment because they will have more options to spend and save their cryptocurrencies without feeling the burden of draconian tax requirements.
