The Colorado Digital Token Act: What you need to know

Regulation • January 7, 2019, 6:18AM EST
UPDATED: January 7, 2019, 9:23AM EST
The Block

The State of Colorado introduced a new bill on crypto regulation Friday, which if passed, will make digital currencies exempt from certain state securities laws. State lawmakers say they are seeking to accommodate local "cryptoeconomic" businesses after the Securities Commissioner filed against 20 initial coin offerings last year, in line with existing local laws.

In its current format, The Colorado Digital Token Act means:

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  • those dealing tokens in Colorado will not be bound by securities registration requirements.
  • new tokens will need to qualify "under the Colorado safe harbor law", or revert to regular securities law, bitcoin.com reported.
  • crypto companies with "consumptive purposes" (defined as offering services or goods) will face more lenient regulation.

The bill, backed by three state senators, is Colorado's second attempt in the past 12 months to pass a crypto exemption law. The last proposal narrowly failed in April after lawmakers reportedly switched votes at the last minute. Governor John Hickenlooper, whose last day in office is today, later established the Council for the Advance of Blockchain Technology to advise on an appropriate legal framework. 

About Author

Isabel is The Block's London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel's brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.

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