California Bill Lets You Hold Your Crypto Like a Grown-Up

by

Well, folks, hold onto your digital wallets, because California has just decided that maybe, just maybe, you should be allowed to keep your own crypto without anyone telling you what to do with it. On April 21, Assembly Bill 1052, a.k.a. the “Digital Assets Bill,” passed a Committee vote with bipartisan support. Yes, that’s right, bipartisan. No, you’re not dreaming.

Introduced by Assembly Member Avelino Valencia (who’s definitely the cool Democrat in the room), the bill was first unleashed in February and then—because we all know how bills work—revised in March. We really like it when they add more details to these things; nothing says ‘trustworthy’ like a confusing timeline.

The bill’s primary goal? To give cryptocurrency users the right to hold their assets themselves, like a responsible adult, without the government peeking over your shoulder. Because who wouldn’t want the power to self-custody their digital gold? 💰

CALIFORNIA HAS JUST DECIDED YOU CAN HOLD YOUR CRYPTO YOURSELF! A BILL PASSES WITH UNANIMOUS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT! 🤑

Huge thanks to Chair @AsmValencia for his leadership and, you know, actually making this happen. Can’t wait for the next thing he fixes.

— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) April 22, 2025

Hold Your Crypto, No Government Permission Required

AB 1052 does the unthinkable: it lets people and businesses accept digital assets as payment. And here’s the kicker: the bill declares them legally valid in private transactions. No special taxes or pesky restrictions. Public entities can’t get all up in your business and block you from using crypto. 🚫💼

The bill also includes a special rule about self-custody, meaning that your hardware wallet and self-hosted solution are off-limits for government interference. In other words, they can’t tell you how to store your crypto. Finally, some personal freedom, right? 😏

“A public entity shall not prohibit, restrict, or impose any requirements on the use of hardware or a self-hosted wallet to control digital financial assets.”

So, no one can tell you what to do with your private keys. Your crypto, your rules, and the government can keep their hands off. Feels good, right? 🍹

But of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. The bill still has to trudge through the legal maze. It’s got to pass the Assembly floor, the Senate, and eventually get the Governor’s seal of approval. Which, let’s face it, is as slow as waiting for a Bitcoin transaction on a busy day. ⏳

It requires a two-thirds vote because, naturally, everything in politics is designed to take forever. Then they’ll make some legal tweaks to the Political Reform Act, Code of Civil Procedure, and Financial Code—because, you know, it’s not a real bill unless you have a few hundred pages of fine print.

Arizona is Crushing It in the Bitcoin Race

While California is out here making history, Arizona’s already planning its own victory lap. According to Bitcoin Law’s State Reserve Race tracker (a thing we didn’t know existed but totally should’ve), Arizona’s pushing forward with two strategic Bitcoin reserve bills. Not to be outdone, New Hampshire and Texas are hot on its heels. Who knew states could race over Bitcoin reserves? 🏁

Meanwhile, Bitcoin hit a six-week high of $88,500 in early trading in Asia on Tuesday. It’s like everyone’s suddenly remembering that Bitcoin is, in fact, a thing worth holding on to, especially with investors looking to flee from US stocks and the dollar. Apparently, when the dollar sneezes, Bitcoin catches a cold—and then turns into a lucrative investment. 🤧💸

Read More

2025-04-23 01:02