This week was quite important for bitcoin, as North Dakota state officials were supposed to determine how cryptocurrency will be looked at from a regulatory point of view. For the time being, the state remains on the fence as to what they think needs to happen with bitcoin. Thankfully, this also means companies do not need a specific bitcoin “license” to operate in North Dakota just yet. On the other hand, this indecisiveness may hinder bitcoin adoption in the region moving forward.
What Is The Plan for Bitcoin in North Dakota?
That is a very good question with no clear answer right now. The North Dakota House Committee opposed the bill advocating a study was in order to determine whether or not a bitcoin license would need to be created. The State Senate saw this as a positive development and passed it unanimously. With the House committee opposing it, it is anybody’s guess as to what will be happening next in North Dakota.
It is not unlikely the proposed bill’s study will still go on, albeit it remains unclear if its findings will be taken into consideration. The goal is to ensure all businesses in the state would become licensed to maintain control of ‘online currencies”. Unfortunately, that concept is rather vague, as it may or may not pertain to bitcoin in the first place. Hasty regulation is never the answer when it comes to bitcoin, which is why North Dakota is seemingly willing to take the slow and steady route right now.
If there is one thing people need to keep in mind about hasty bitcoin regulation, it is how it can have nasty side effects. BitLicense, for example, has proven to be quite an annoying type of bitcoin regulation, which only hinders cryptocurrency adoption in New York state right now. Moreover, the approval process for BitLicense remains incredibly slow and costly, which is not helping anyone at this stage.
On the other hand, the State of Illinois has proven to be quite open-minded when it comes to regulating bitcoin companies. Not all regulatory proposals are negative by definition, even though the general feeling is these requirements as will only hinder bitcoin adoption in the end. It will be interesting to see what happens in North Dakota moving forward, although it may take a few more years until anything comes of it.
Innovative payment technologies have always been a difficult area for governments so far. Any business model that turns existing services on their head will be met with regulation. In most cases, the entire response by governments is to oppose these new technologies. Bitcoin has seen its fair share of opposition over the years, that much is certain. Then again, there seems to be a certain level of optimism across US regulators regarding the future of cryptocurrency in the country.
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