New York Considers Crypto as a Method of Payment

The state of New York is moving towards accepting a new bill that if passed, would allow crypto to be used as a form of payment.

Is New York Suddenly a Crypto Fan?

This is huge for the Empire State in that it would not only put New York on the crypto map, but it would also ensure crypto – at least within the state’s borders – is utilized for the purpose it was created for. The bill states:

This act amends the state finance law in relation to allowing New York state agencies to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. Each state agency is authorized to enter into an agreement with persons to provide the acceptance, by offices of the state, of cryptocurrency as a means of payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, [and] taxes.

What many people likely forget is that while bitcoin and many of its crypto cousins have taken on either speculative or even hedge-like statuses in recent years, many of them were initially designed to serve as payment tools. They were built to push checks, credit cards, and fiat currencies to the side, but this has been a relatively slow journey given the volatility that continues to drag them down.

It is extremely hard to understand when bitcoin and its crypto family will go up or down when it comes to their prices. Many stores and companies have been reluctant to say “yes” when it comes to accepting crypto payments for this reason, and to a degree, we can’t blame them.

Consider the following scenario: someone walks into a store and buys $50 worth of merchandise with bitcoin. For one reason or another, the store doesn’t trade the BTC into fiat right away and about 24 hours go by. From there, the price of BTC goes down and that $50 becomes $40. The customer gets to keep everything he or she bought, but the store has lost money in the end. Is this a fair situation? Not everyone thinks so.

For something like this to happen in New York is no doubt surprising. On the one hand, it’s great because it’s giving crypto more of a fighting chance. At the same time, it’s also rather confusing given how harsh New York has been towards crypto in the past.

Not a “Nice” History Behind It

For example, regulators recently imposed a crypto moratorium that would deny any and all new digital currency mining companies from setting up shop within the region’s borders. Unless they use clean energy, they cannot call New York home.

Then, there’s the BitLicense. First established in 2015 when crypto was not really established, the law forced many crypto and blockchain companies out of New York given it required heavy fees and enforced strict operational regulations that were too difficult to adhere to.

Tags: crypto, crypto payment, New York