West Virginia lawmakers want to make Bitcoin money laundering a felony

Rage Review : Representatives from Arizona, North Dakota and other U.S. states have been making numerous proposals since the beginning of the year, but the West Virginia bill is the first recent bill to focus directly on money laundering. West Virginia lawmakers want to make money laundering with Bitcoin and other digital currencies a felony. The bill has been sent to the West Virginia Assembly Judiciary Committee for further review. Although digital currencies are not considered as currencies, this inclusiveness is still worth noting.

Translation: Nicole

West Virginia lawmakers want to make it a felony to launder money using Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

West Virginia Assembly Bill 2585, introduced yesterday, updates the state’s money laundering statutes in several ways, including adding a definition of “cryptocurrency” in the state, as well as a definition of “monetary instrument.”

While digital currencies cannot be considered money, this inclusion is noteworthy considering that national legislatures have recently been pushing for new laws regarding the technology.

As the bill states:

“‘Cryptocurrency’ refers to digital currencies in which cryptographic techniques are used to regulate the generation of currency units and verify the transfer of funds, and which operate independently of a central bank.”

People convicted of money laundering in West Virginia face up to 15 years in prison, depending on the severity of the crime, and thousands of dollars in fines.

Public records show the measure has strong support among members of the Legislature and is signed by 11 sponsors and co-sponsors, according to LegiScan. The bill has been sent to the West Virginia General Assembly Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

Representatives from Arizona, North Dakota and other U.S. states have been pushing numerous proposals since the beginning of the year, but the West Virginia bill is the first recent one to focus directly on money laundering.