From Louisiana to New Hampshire, crypto advocates are winning

As many states settle in for their summer recess, the momentum behind digital asset legislation shows no signs of slowing down, and it could shift voters' focus to many congressional and down-ballot races this fall.

So far in 2024, we’ve seen over 30 bills impacting digital assets enacted at the state level. That’s more than double the number that passed out of state houses last year. We also see progress in both Republican and Democratic states, reflecting a broad, bipartisan appetite for clear and consistent crypto regulation. States are seeing the importance of showing the work ahead of November.

June has been a particularly active month for state crypto policy in New England, the home of a few important races and a variety of bills addressing key areas such as custody requirements, self-hosted wallets, unclaimed property, crypto mining, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

For example, the swing state of New Hampshire — which has alternated between Democratic and Republican majorities in its state legislature since 2006 — is making moves to expand its regulatory framework to include certain digital-asset activity. The state legislature spent June negotiating differences between the House and Senate passed versions of HB 1241, which wextend its money-transmitter laws to capture "virtual currency" transmission.

Maine — which could be a swing state in the 2024 election — also recently advanced a digital asset update to its own MTL regulations. However, the change included some problematic provisions for self-hosted wallets. When Maine Governor Janet Mills signed LD 2112 into law, the bill included language that could stifle how self-hosted wallets interact with the rest of the digital asset ecosystem. Policymakers will need to address this issue during the bill’s implementation process.

Senator Elizabeth Warren's home state of Massachusetts is also advancing crypto legislation. House Bill 1641 aims to modernize how fiduciaries manage digital assets, aligning with legislation across the country such as HB 3778 in Oklahoma and SB 1458 in California. The measure has been recommended for further study by the Joint Judiciary Committee, which includes members from both the state House and Senate.