California Bill Looks to Accept Crypto for State Services

The California State Legislature introduced a bill last week that would enable citizens to pay for government services with cryptocurrency.

Senate Bill No. 1275 was introduced by Democratic State Senator Sydney Kamlager on February 18. “This bill would authorize a state agency to accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment for the provision of government services,” the document states. “A state agency may accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment for the provision of government services.”

Public payments

California has now joined the ranks of public and private institutions racing to enable the payment of services and goods in cryptocurrencies. Late last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had revealed a proposal that would let businesses pay state fees in crypto. He had put forward the proposal as part of a slew of those related to cryptocurrencies in the state’s 2022 budget. 

This came in the wake of fellow Florida politician, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. A vocal proponent of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies for some time, he has said he would accept payment in Bitcoin and was working to offer it as payment to government employees. This enthusiasm triggered a friendly rivalry with newly inaugurated New York Mayor Eric Adams, who offered to take his first three months pay in Bitcoin.

Private payments

In addition to government institutions exploring crypto payments options, nearly one-quarter of small businesses from nine countries said they have plans to accept digital currencies as payment in 2022, according to a recent survey from Visa. “I think more people are feeling more confident with crypto,” said Visa’s global head of merchant sales and acquiring Jeni Mundy. Meanwhile, 13% of consumers from those countries said that they expect more retail outlets to accept crypto this year. Cryptocurrency payments for real estate have also been taking off, according to Upnest.com, while ride-sharing app Uber also “absolutely” plans to offer payment in crypto this year.

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