Two new bills have just been introduced in Tennessee’s legislature to allow the state and other municipalities to invest in cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as well as forming a committee aimed at studying crypto and blockchain.
Lawmakers have been actively submitting crypto-related proposals to kickstart 2022. Recently, Senator Wendy Rogers from Arizona introduced a bill proposing to make bitcoin a authorized tender within the state. If enacted, the bill would allow residents to pay money owed, public fees, taxes, and dues with bitcoin and set up the digital foreign money as a lawful medium of change in Arizona.
The New Bill
In the latest development, Democrat Representative Jason Powel has introduced two new bills that aims to allow The State of Tennessee to invest in cryptocurrencies and NFTs along with setting up a study committee to understand how Tennessee could become one of the top destination for crypto related businesses.
According to Tennessee House Bill 2644 – it proposes to amend the current state code to add crypto, blockchain, and NFTs to the list of authorized investments for the counties, state, and municipalities to make with idle funds. The bill has already been forwarded to the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for further consideration.
Powell has also proposed a separate bill, if approved, would create a study commission focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain. According to the Tennessee House Bill 2643 – The study committee’s duties would be to review data on crypto and blockchain across the United States, determine the status of laws applicable to the crypto space, study NFT use cases and regulations to promote Tennessee as a blockchain and crypto hub. The group’s first report would be due by Dec. 31, 2022. The report states,
“To help determine how to make [Tennessee] the most forward thinking and pro-business state for cryptocurrency and blockchain and to foster a positive economic environment for blockchain and cryptocurrency,”
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