Coinspeaker
New York Floats Bill to Allow Stablecoin Payments for Bail Bonds
The city of New York is currently planning to add stablecoin payments as a form of bail. According to a May 10 bill, the city is proposing legislation that will allow defendants to use fiat-backed stablecoins for bail bonds.
Noting that current methods allow the use of cash, credit cards, and insurance, the new bill seeks an amendment that will make room for stablecoins as well. Per the proposal, however, there is no mention of what particular stablecoins will be permitted.
New York May Set Precedent for Stablecoin Payments
If the new bill passes and stablecoins are accepted in New York, the move could pave the way for other states to follow suit. More so, the move is expected to impact the stablecoin ecosystem as a whole.
For what it’s worth, the stablecoin ecosystem has not been doing quite well in the past year or so. The current market capitalization of all stablecoins currently sits at around $131 billion. According to CoinGecko data, that represents above 17.5% decline from its value in the previous year.
Therefore, such new proposals as this may help to bolster stablecoin adoption and improve its fortunes.
Interestingly, however, the bill comes at a time when there are calls to tighten the regulation of the crypto industry. On May 5, New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James proposed a landmark legislation. According to her, the crypto industry suffers what she called “rampant fraud and dysfunction.”
To this end, her proposal seeks to ensure that New York carries out independent public audits of crypto exchanges. The proposal also calls for brokerage owners to be prohibited from owning tokens as this may present a case of conflicts of interest. And lastly, James also wants to prohibit lending and borrowing crypto assets.
Meanwhile, it might be worth mentioning that the NYAG has been actively clamping down on crypto companies recently. So far, she has taken action against the likes of CoinEX, KuCoin, and Celsius, among many others this year. She also stood against Binance.US in its bid to acquire troubled crypto lender Voyager.
But despite the stringent measures that appear to have been established against crypto in New York, the acceptance of stablecoins for bail bonds is a win. It strikes a balance and signals a step in the right direction for the state.
New York Floats Bill to Allow Stablecoin Payments for Bail Bonds
