Clyde Vanel, a New York State Assemblyman announced via Facebook on January 3rd about the formation of an “initial” crypto task force.

He said that the state of New York is the first among the US states to come up with a crypto task force that has been given the jurisdiction to examine and follow the regulation, convenience and the classification of virtual currency. He added that the bill, “The Digital Currency Study Bill” has already been signed into law by the governor of the state, Andrew Cuomo.

This decision is not new, it was decided way back in June 2017. The bill was passed by the New York State Committee. The members were put to task after the appointed governor in collaboration with the Senate and the Assembly and have been told to report their findings come December 15, 2020.

A year’s time looks way too much for understanding technology but we have to understand that the American lawmakers aren’t too good at understanding technology. We just have to take a look at Google CEO Sundar Pachai’s congressional hearing.

These reports will include proposals on how the state may best regulate, define or utilize cryptocurrencies, as well as sweeping overviews of the space, including the energy cost of mining cryptocurrencies, how cryptocurrencies are being traded within the state, how these trades may be affecting tax collection and a number of other aspects.

Vanel said in the post: “New York leads the country in finance. We will also lead in proper fintech regulation. The task force of experts will help us strike the balance between having a robust blockchain industry and cryptocurrency economic environment while at the same time protecting New York investors and consumers.”

He acknowledged that in the early days of Bitcoin, there were instances of Bitcoin exchanges getting hacked.

To respond to these, under Governor Cuomo, New York State’s Department of Financial Services promulgated the BitLicense to protect New Yorkers on cryptocurrency exchanges. Noticeably the New York state was the first to act on this. Julie Samuels, the Executive Director of Tech at NYC added:

“Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will, without a doubt, greatly impact finance and many other industries across the globe for years to come. New York’s cryptocurrency task force – the first of its kind in the nation – shows how our state is leading the way in studying and understanding these technologies to ensure they can thrive in a responsible and effective way, further solidifying New York’s position as a global hub for smart innovation.”

It is a breath of fresh air to see government representative taking an initiative to understand a forward-leaning technology instead of just demonizing it. We can only hope that other states and in fact other countries follow New York’s footsteps.

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