The race is on to become the first state to accept cryptocurrencies in the US. Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, has just announced that the state will begin accepting crypto for taxes. The plan is to eventually extend accepting cryptocurrencies across all payments made in the state the governor also revealed.
Colorado governor Jared Polis floats crypto acceptance plans
Polis made this known while speaking with CNBC today. The governor stated that the rollout of crypto acceptance by the state government is expected this summer, which is less than five months away.
“We expect by this summer, pretty soon, to accept crypto for all our tax-related purposes. And then we plan to roll that across all of the state government,” Polis said.
The other payments crypto will be accepted with time in the state include payments for drivers’ and hunting licenses. The state is aiming to become the center of crypto adoption in the US.
The governor of the Western US also stated that his crypto acceptance plan will not expose the state to the crypto market. This is because the state will convert all payments made with crypto to dollars without holding them for any length of time.
“There will be an intermediary that would convert them, for our purposes, back to dollars,” Polis stated. Polis gave a similar clarification last month when speaking at a National Governors Association meeting.
A brief look at Crypto adoption in US states
Aside from Colorado, two other US states may be edging towards accepting cryptocurrencies. A proposal submitted by Wyoming lawmakers intends to allow citizens to pay taxes with crypto.
A similar proposal will see Bitcoin become legal tender in Arizona and also be accepted for payments of taxes. Other US state politicians have stated their desire to accept crypto, make their jurisdictions attract crypto investors, and become hubs for the rapidly growing industry.
Meanwhile, the US federal government is still highly skeptical of cryptocurrencies. Federal financial regulators under the Biden-led government have continued to warn about the dangers of digital assets to the economy. The SEC is one such regulator as its chair Gary Gensler has continued to describe the crypto industry as the “Wild West.”