New York Bill Would Allow Crypto Payments to State Agencies

A New York bill currently in committee would allow New Yorkers to pay state agencies with cryptocurrency.

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The bill, if passed, "Establishes that state agencies are allowed to accept cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash as payment."

Now I'll admit, I don't have a great understanding of cryptocurrency. In my mind, the biggest draw of having cryptocurrency is the volatility of its worth. Plenty of people hopped on the Bitcoin train when it was worth nothing on the stock market and road the rise to being worth over $60,000 per stock. As far as payments to state agencies go, I'm not sure I fully understand the motivation to spend cryptocurrency when it could be worth a completely different amount within a week.

I'll have to convene with my tech geniuses to get a better idea on why this is something that people want. But at the very least it'll make paying New York State a lot easier if you're one of those people who put all your money into cryptocurrencies.

According to a report on PYMNTS, the bill was introduced by Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, a Democrat who represents several areas in Queens. CEO of Airswift Dr. Yan Zhang told PYMNTS "It is critical to develop a decentralized payment protocol and integrate it with regulated payment service providers and money service operators."

All in all, I think we can agree that cryptocurrencies are incredibly confusing and the majority of us New Yorkers would prefer to pay the state the old fashioned way. But if you're planning on using cryptocurrency to pay New York State, you might be able to in the near future.