Connecticut lawmakers vote to prohibit crypto use in government

Connecticut lawmakers person unanimously passed a measure prohibiting authorities and section authorities divisions from accepting cryptocurrency payments and holding crypto assets.

The House Bill 7082, titled “An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Money Transmission Statutes, State Payments and Investments successful Virtual Currency [...],” received bipartisan enactment and was signed into instrumentality connected June 10.

The measure papers stipulates that “neither the authorities nor immoderate governmental subdivision of the state” shall judge payments successful cryptocurrency oregon acquisition crypto assets.

An excerpt from Connecticut’s House Bill 7082. Source: LegiScan

The caller authorities besides prohibits the authorities of Connecticut from establishing a crypto plus reserve, making it 1 of the fewer US states that person explicitly rejected the thought of crypto plus reserves.

Democrats pushing the bill

First presented by Connecticut’s associated committee connected banking successful February 2025, the measure was cosponsored by Democrats, including State Representative Ken Gucker, Senator Patricia Miller and Senator Matthew Lesser.

Since the archetypal ballot successful May, the measure has received wide enactment from the House, with 105 votes supporting the measure and lone 42 lawmakers voting against it successful a ballot connected May 14.

The latest passing came from 148 votes successful favour of the measure and zero opponents, with 3 abstaining.

Voting past of House Bill 7082. Source: LegiScan

Some online commentators cited the Democratic Party’s important bulk successful Connecticut arsenic a cardinal operator of the unanimous vote, particularly amid the party’s broader criticism of President Donald Trump’s involvement with memecoins and integer assets.

Related: Crypto plus reserve measure lands successful Ukraine’s parliament

One related proposal, the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement Act, oregon the MEME Act, aims to forestall national officials from utilizing their presumption to profit from memecoins.

The prohibition “does thing of substance”

According to immoderate online manufacture observers, Connecticut’s prohibition connected crypto concern by the authorities is apt driven by concerns implicit volatility and regulation, but it could go a large obstruction to innovation.

On the different hand, Brogan Law laminitis Aaron Brogan told Cointelegraph that the prohibition “does thing of substance,” and alternatively reflects that “some subset of Democrats are becoming polarized against the cryptocurrency industry,” apt due to the fact that of its relation with Trump.

“This is signaling that Connecticut is symbolically opposed to cryptocurrency, and to each the states that person established Bitcoin reserves,” said Brogan, adding:

“State legislatures emotion to prohibition things that weren’t happening anyhow due to the fact that it gets headlines without the pesky occupation of really having consequences successful the existent world.”

Brogan besides highlighted that the Connecticut politician inactive has to motion the instrumentality and pointed to further disclosure requirements targeting wealth transmitters successful the backstage sector.

“That could perchance beryllium costly, and bifurcate nonrecreational practices successful the mode the California privateness laws person for immoderate online applications,” helium said.

Growing database of states rejecting Bitcoin reserves

Under the Trump administration, the fig of US states considering Bitcoin (BTC) reserve proposals has increased, with the fig of strategical Bitcoin reserve (SBR) bills reaching 31, according to information from Bitcoin Laws.

Connecticut, however, is not unsocial successful rejecting specified initiatives, with lawmakers successful 5 states — Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Pennsylvania — killing SBR bills successful February alone.

In March, Utah’s Senate passed a Bitcoin measure but amended it to region a section that would person authorized the authorities treasurer to put successful Bitcoin. The authorities of Oklahoma followed successful April arsenic the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee besides rejected a SBR connection successful a 6–5 vote.

The database of states rejecting Bitcoin reserve-related bills continued to turn successful May, with Florida indefinitely postponing its SBR bill successful aboriginal May and Arizona’s politician vetoing 2 crypto bills.

Magazine: US risks being ‘front run’ connected Bitcoin reserve by different nations: Samson Mow