Pennsylvania Scores Huge Win for Decentralized Money

Last week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives advanced a bipartisan bill to protect cryptocurrency in the Keystone State. House Bill 2481, The Blockchain Basics Act, protects cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and allows them to be used as money.

This is a major step forward for proponents of Bitcoin and other digital currencies as some government agencies move to treat this new technology as a form of security like stocks and bonds. Doing so would require users to pay taxes when they exchange the digital currency, effectively barring its use in day-to-day transactions.

The Blockchain Basics Act would altogether secure the ability for everyday Pennsylvanians to trade with cryptocurrency, make payments with it, and even be exempt from taxation for ‘holding a digital wallet’. That, in and of itself, is a victory for Pennsylvanians to celebrate, but, in addressing cryptocurrency, there is always a risk: the risk of big government stepping in and taking what they perceive as their ‘piece of the pie’.

Not only does HB 2481 protect digital assets, but it also protects citizens in the Commonwealth from the encroachment of a dangerous Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) thanks to an amendment from Hazlitt Coalition member and Pennsylvania State Representative Robert Leadbeter. Leadbeter introduced an amendment that would ensure the protections established by this landmark legislation will not extend to a CBDC.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a term used to describe digital currencies that are controlled and regulated by a central bank such as the Federal Reserve. One of the primary reasons proponents cite for using cryptocurrencies is that they are inherently decentralized and the fact that nobody can manipulate their value. Allowing a few government bureaucrats and power players to control a cryptocurrency undermines the very reason for its existence and maintains the government’s control over the economy.

House Bill 2481 must still clear the Pennsylvania Senate before the end of the year and be signed by the governor in order to become law.