Legislators all over the world are keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency. With the global demand for Bitcoin rising once again, we can only hope to see more use cases for the world’s leading cryptocurrency. It seems that is finally happening in the state of Arizona right now. More specifically, its state senate passed a measure allowing residents to pay their taxes with Bitcoin.
Another Notch in crypto’s belt
People can rarely use Bitcoin for the things they really need to pay for. From a luxury goods perspective, spending Bitcoin has never been easier than it is today. When it comes to regular services and goods, however, things are not as clear-cut right now. In fact, most bills can’t be paid in Bitcoin without using an intermediary service. It is anything but an ideal situation, but things will not change overnight.
In Arizona, however, state legislators are more than happy to give Bitcoin a fair shot. It is a bit unclear where this sudden positive momentum came from, but cryptocurrency enthusiasts will consider this to be a major victory regardless. With the approval of Senate Bill 1091, Arizona residents can now officially pay their taxes with Bitcoin. It is also possible to use other cryptocurrencies officially recognized by the state. This is a rather surprising development, yet one the cryptocurrency industry needs now more than ever.
The bill was originally submitted earlier this year and has undergone a few small revisions. Nothing major has been changed to the wording, yet legislators wanted to make sure all bases were covered. It is evident accepting Bitcoin payments for state taxes is a risky venture, especially given the Bitcoin price volatility these days. Even so, Arizona’s officials evidently think now is a good time to get involved with cryptocurrencies. This may very well herald a major legislative shift when it comes to Bitcoin.
Making Bitcoin a legal option for paying taxes owed in Arizona comes at a rather surprising time. Over the past few years, cryptocurrency has mainly been associated with criminal activity, hacking, and illegal content. While all of those stereotypes still exist to this day, it seems people are slowly considering the benefits of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Arizona is positioning itself as a major Bitcoin hub with this senate bill, which will have some interesting consequences.
As one would expect, Senate Bill 1091 divided Arizona’s legislators into two camps. Taxpayers using Bitcoin are still at risk of the Bitcoin price dropping all of a sudden. This reiterates the need to use a payment processor capable of converting these payments to fiat currency on behalf of Arizona. After all, the state isn’t willing to hold on to this volatile form of money for long, even though there is a lot of upside potential for Bitcoin right now.
While granting Bitcoin legal status is a big step in the right direction, the bill has yet to pass its biggest hurdle. More specifically, the Arizona House of Representatives has yet to look at this bill and render their verdict. It is evident this bill could set an interesting precedent, but until it’s officially approved and enacted, there will be plenty of opposition from officials all over the world. It only takes one government to take such a positive course of action to trigger a domino effect.
