SB 262 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE ACCEPTANCE OF CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS FOR THE PURCHASE OF VIRTUAL CURRENCY.

Senate General Assembly CommitteeFile Bill No.

262142 January Session, 2023 LCOSenate Bill No.

5030262 ReferredSenate, toMarch 21, 2023 The Committee on BANKINGBanking Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(BA)MILLER ANof ACTthe CONCERNING27th THEDist., ACCEPTANCEChairperson OFof CREDITthe ANDCommittee DEBITon CARDSthe FORpart THEof PURCHASEthe OFSenate, VIRTUALthat CURRENCY.the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE ACCEPTANCE OF CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS FOR THE PURCHASE OF VIRTUAL CURRENCY.

(b) Each licensee that engages in the business of money transmission inSB262 this/ stateFile by receiving, transmitting, storing or maintaining custody or control of virtual currency on behalf of another person shall at all LCO 5030 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00262-R01 of 2 SB.docx Committee Bill No.

262142 times1 holdSB262 virtualFile currencyNo. of the same type and amount owed or obligated to such other person.

142 in this state by receiving, transmitting, storing or maintaining custody or control of virtual currency on behalf of another person shall at all times hold virtual currency of the same type and amount owed or obligated to such other person.

Section 1 October 1, 2023 36a-603 BA Joint Favorable LCOSB262 5030/ {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-00262-2File ofNo. 2 R02-SB.docx }

142 2 SB262 File No.

142 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill allows for credit cards and debit cards to be used in the purchase of virtual currency, resulting in no fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None SB262 / File No.

142 3 SB262 File No.

142 OLR Bill Analysis SB 262 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ACCEPTANCE OF CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS FOR THE PURCHASE OF VIRTUAL CURRENCY.

SUMMARY This bill explicitly allows anyone engaging in the business of selling virtualcurrency inConnecticut to accept credit cardsanddebit cards for virtual currency purchases.

By law, “virtual currency” is a digital unit (1) used as a medium of exchange or form of digitally stored value or (2) incorporated into payment system technology.

It includes digital units of exchange that (1) have a centralized repository or administrator, (2) are decentralized without a centralized repository or administrator, or (3) may be created or obtained by computing or manufacturing effort.

Virtual currency does not include digital units used in the following ways:

1.

solely in online gaming platforms with no other market or application or 2.

exclusively in a consumer affinity or rewards program that (a) can be used only as payment for purchases with the issuer or another designated merchant and (b) cannot be converted into, or redeemed for, fiat currency (government-backed currency, e.g., the U.S.

dollar) (CGS § 36a-596(21)).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2023 COMMITTEE ACTION Banking Committee Joint Favorable Yea 12 Nay 0 (03/07/2023) SB262 / File No.

142 4