4 Wyoming Bills Could Boost Blockchain, Tech Growth

Wyoming legislators are seeking economic development through bills to make it easier to invest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the state.

Wyoming is famous for its national parks, like Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, but it may soon be known as a place to fund and grow a blockchain startup.

According to Republican state Rep. Tyler Lindholm, there are four bills to be introduced mid-February when the Wyoming Legislature goes into session that will impact the state’s growing tech sector. One, Lindholm believes, should excite the blockchain community.

This legislation, House Bill 0070, “exempts initial coin offering [ICO] tokens issued on an open blockchain from Wyoming’s money transmitter and securities laws, as long as the token has not been marketed as an investment and is exchangeable for goods or services,” he said. This bill would also exempt token exchanges from being deemed broker/dealers under Wyoming law. 

Startups issue ICOs to fund their companies by selling company tokens for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum. Sometimes these are treated as shares in the company, and may be subject to taxation by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). At other times startups issue what are called utility tokens, which give the bearer the right to software the company produces or a service the company will provide. The Wyoming legislation would classify utility tokens as a non-security investment, which could be looked at by the blockchain community as a hedge against SEC taxation.

Continue to full article.