<\/p>\n
Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a bill on Monday that, if enacted, would exempt individuals and businesses in the state from requiring money transmitter licenses to participate in mining, staking and exchanging digital assets.<\/p>\n
According to a document<\/a> from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, the bill seeks to clearly define exemptions from requiring a license from the Department of Financial Institutions for money transmission-related activities. <\/p>\n Under the proposed exemptions of Wisconsin Assembly Bill 471, individuals or businesses would not need DFI licences for crypto mining, staking and developing blockchain software.\u00a0<\/p>\n It also exempts the exchanging of digital assets if the transactions don\u2019t involve the \u201cconversion to legal tender\u201d or bank deposits.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the bill, neither a state agency nor a political subdivision may prohibit or restrict a person in accepting digital assets as a method of payment for legal goods and services or in taking custody of digital assets using a self-hosted wallet or hardware wallet,\u201d the document reads, adding that:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe bill also specifies that a person in this state may 1) operate a node for the purpose of connecting to a blockchain protocol and participating in the blockchain protocol\u2019s operations; 2) develop software on a blockchain protocol; 3) transfer digital assets to another person utilizing a blockchain protocol; and 4) participate in staking on a blockchain protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>US government poised to shut down: Will it affect crypto market structure bill?<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The bill marks another attempt to reduce some of the legal gray area<\/a> surrounding state-based crypto regulation. There is still a lack of clear rules<\/a> across the country for crypto despite increasing adoption.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bill is sponsored by seven Republican members at the House level, and two Republican co-sponsors from the Senate, and has since been referred to the Committee on Financial Institutions.<\/p>\n According to Legiscan, the bill has a current progression rate of 25%, as it still has to pass through one chamber and two more committees before it could potentially be enacted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nWisconsin bill still has hurdles to pass<\/h2>\n