Texas: Proposed Bill Requires Identification of Buyers Paying in Digital Currencies

A bill requiring users to identify themselves while using digital currencies has been filed on March 8, according to the official Texas legislature portal.

The bill’s text contains the definitions of digital currencies, digital wallets, distributed ledgers and verified identity digital currencies (VIDC). The latter is defined as “a digital currency that allows the true identities of the sender and the receiver to be known before a person has access to another person's digital wallet.”

Per the proposed bill, before accepting a payment in digital currency, a person must verify the identity of the person sending the payment unless a VIDC is used. Moreover, the proposed regulation also specifies:

“This state may not use a digital currency that is not a verified identity digital currency.”

The bill further declares that the Texas Department of Banking, Credit Union Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety and State Securities Board will work together to support the application of VIDCs.

Such encouragement is defined as providing tools to distinguish VIDCs from other digital currencies, educating law enforcement and promoting the use of VIDCs. The bill also specifies how those guidelines should be implemented, noting that the aforementioned organizations should adopt rules to carry out these directives.

Recently, Russia’s Duma Committee on Financial Markets also announced that they are considering the adoption of a mandatory identification process for users of digital assets.

As Cointelegraph reported in February, the Texas State Securities Board issued a total of 16 orders against suspected cryptocurrency scam investments in 2018.

Also in February, the Texas’ state securities regulator announced it had reached an agreement with four cryptocurrency companies it accused of selling unregistered securities.