Canada’s landmark legal legislation this week came suddenly for the community – but it is not alone: now, a second official response has been heard in California.
CNBC.com reports that Assemblyman Roger Dickinson yesterday approved an amendment to the law on accepted currencies “making it easier to use alternative currencies including Bitcoin.”
The bill, AB-129, was backed 7-1 by the California Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and will now move forward to review by California Governor Jerry Brown, like Dickinson a democrat, who will be able either to approve or veto its signing into law.
Coming just three days after the Canadian move, Dickinson commented:
“In an era of evolving payment methods, from Amazon coins to Starbucks Stars, it is impractical to ignore the growing use of cash alternatives.”
While the mood in California appears to be considerably less critical of such “evolving payment methods,” both decisions underline an essential fact: that Bitcoin and others are impossible to officially ignore any further.
Reflecting this consensus, in a press release Dickinson further explained that the bill “is intended to fine-tune current law to address Californians' payment habits in the mobile and digital fields.”
Responses from the industry are still awaited, but the openness of Dickinson’s language implies a schism between the US state and the mood across the border, something which could well prove contentious in the months going forward.