An Ohio lawmaker said the state needs to put in place a regulatory framework for digital currencies and blockchain technology, the logs for transaction of those currencies.
House Bill 116—also known as the Ohio Blockchain Basics Act—would bar state and local governments from levying certain taxes, fees or charges that target digital currencies, colloquially known as cryptocurrency or just crypto. It was reintroduced from last General Assembly.
HB 116 would establish a state income tax deduction for gains from selling digital assets, at $200 per transaction. It also provides numerous protections to Bitcoin mining businesses from certain zoning regulations.
“This is just the beginning,” Rep. Steve Demetriou (R-Bainbridge Twp.) said in a Tuesday interview. “We’re just trying to create sort of the framework, the baseline within the Ohio Revised Code for these industries.”
Demetriou may soon bring an amendment getting rid of provisions on state pensions in HB 116. Under them, the state retirement systems would have to evaluate whether to invest in exchange-traded funds that have crypto holdings. Those provisions have brought the biggest opponents so far, he said.
The bill also sets groundwork for House Bill 18, another bill Demetriou reintroduced. “I think it would be wise for us to have some definitions in the (Ohio Revised Code), if we’re going to go then say, ‘Hey, let’s go invest Ohioans money in this stuff,’” he said.
HB 18 would let the Ohio Treasurer invest as much as 10% of some state funds from several sources in digital assets, including crypto and nonfungible tokens. HB 18 has proven to be a harder push, Demetriou said.
“I got to get the treasurer on board and a broader swath of folks across the state and here in Columbus on board in order to get that one across the finish line,” he said.
About one in five Ohioans own some form of digital currency, according to a 2023 poll by the digital asset exchange Coinbase.
The Ohio Blockchain Basics Act got proponent testimony Tuesday, including from the national Satoshi Action Fund, which lobbies the federal and state governments for pro-Bitcoin policy. It awaits further hearings in the House Technology and Innovation committee.