Washington state's Bitcoin ban rejected, lawyer says cash is more dangerous

According to an anonymous source, a ban on the use of Bitcoin to purchase marijuana in Washington State has been defeated. The bill, SB 5264, mentioned several places to prohibit the use of virtual currencies to buy marijuana, but the bill failed to pass the legislative committee. In addition, Senator Ann Rivers, a supporter of the bill, withdrew the bill after attending a Bitcoin hearing in Washington State (the hearing emphasized the positive aspects of Bitcoin rather than the potential negative effects).

The bill, which would have banned the use of virtual currencies in the cannabis industry, was proposed by the founders of Payqwick, but their concerns were quickly downplayed by several government agencies and a company specializing in bitcoin payments for the cannabis industry.

There is no ban on virtual currencies

(James Paribello, legislative liaison for the Liquor and Cannabis Board)

The founder of Bitcoin POS service company Posabit and a lawyer from Perkins Coie have voiced their opposition to the virtual currency ban.

“We are simply following the regulations of the Department of Financial Institutions,” said James Paribello, legislative liaison for the Liquor and Cannabis Board. “They are licensed businesses that we authorize to operate in this industry and they can accept and process bitcoin transactions.” The Liquor and Cannabis Board said it has no concerns about Posabit.

"We rely on the financial institutions division to decide who can operate in this industry and because the financial institutions division says it's OK, then we are OK," Mr Paribello said.

The senators, on the other hand, had a certain bias against Bitcoin and asked a lot of questions about the digital currency.

“When I see Bitcoin in the international media, I see the transnational drug trade, the black economy, and a way to circumvent currency controls,” said Senator Michael Baumgartner.

Joseph Cutler, an attorney at Perkins Coie, said:

"Before we regulate currency, we might want to understand how it works, what are its benefits, what is it used for? It's a transparent, auditable ledger of transactions. Every transaction we make today is recorded on this public ledger. The idea that it is untraceable is completely wrong. People say Bitcoin is anonymous, which is also false. We think Bitcoin is superior to cash in pseudonymity. But in cannabis transactions, cash is king. Customers who use cash to trade in cannabis stores have no traceability, which is not the case with virtual currency transactions."

“Cash is dangerous,” said Ryan Hammond, founder of Posabit. “It’s dangerous to hold it, it’s dangerous to transfer it, and you become a target for potential criminals.”

Posabit Chief Compliance Officer John Baugher expressed similar concerns, saying: “If law enforcement has questions about some transactions, if the other party is using cash, there is no way for them to resolve it.”