US Republican State Senator Wendy Rogers is looking to follow in the footsteps of President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador by introducing a bill to make bitcoin legal tender in the state of Arizona. The question is: is it possible, and if so, what are the prospects of success?
Contents of the Bill
The bill, quite simply, seeks to add bitcoin to the list of instruments that currently constitute legal tender in Arizona.
Technically speaking, if accepted as a medium of exchange and unit of account, not only would it enable direct peer-to-peer transactions, but it would also facilitate transactions between citizens and businesses/government. You could even envision a situation where employees could receive their salary in bitcoin, although that is already taking place across the country.
Lord Fusitu’a, a member of Tongan royalty, and who is open about his mission to have Tonga embrace bitcoin as legal tender, took to Twitter to express his support for the bill:
Critically, the bill refers specifically to “Bitcoin”, not “cryptocurrency”, suggesting there are significant and material differences between Bitcoin and everything else.
Although not explicitly outlined, one possible reason for this distinction may be that of the 17,219 tokens/cryptocurrencies, only Bitcoin’s issuance is set in stone and incapable of debasement by any centralised group/foundation. Bitcoin is the 21st century’s solution to loose monetary policy, while other digital assets serve an entirely different purpose.
Prior to the bill coming into force, it would first have to pass the Arizona State Senate and House before Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, signs it into law.
Potential Roadblocks
One potential roadblock may be a provision in the US Constitution:
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.
US Constitution, Article I, Section 10, Clause 1
At this stage, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the bill is likely to succeed but the implications, if it does, would be enormous:
While some are excited, others are less so, suggesting there may be a simpler solution than going the legal tender route:
Irrespective, the tide appears to be slowly shifting in favour of greater adoption, and with an estimated 10 percent of US householders owning BTC, it’s likely that bills like this one are just the beginning of a significant trend.
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