Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon Vetoes Crypto Bills

Mark Gordon – the governor of Wyoming, which has earned a reputation for being a very crypto friendly state – has used his powers to veto new bills centering around the trading and usage of crypto.

Mark Gordon Says “No” to Crypto Legislation

Two of the bills that Gordon has opposed stemmed from the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology, and Digital Innovation Technology. The organization has been at the center of several crypto-related issues over the past few years, and ultimately submitted two new pieces of legislation under the names Senate File 106, aka the Wyoming Stable Token Act, and Senate File 55, which would have allowed blockchain technology to be applied to Wyoming’s growing insurance industry.

The office of Mark Gordon issued a statement explaining:

The Governor exercised his veto authority on the following bills… Wyoming has been on the cutting edge regarding the regulation of special purpose depository institutions for the exchange of digital assets including cryptocurrencies.

One of the big concerns expressed by Gordon regarding the crypto laws was that they would somehow interfere with the duties of state legislators and potentially overwhelm or limit their powers. He commented that he is looking to keep the “obligations of the state” in check. He further stated:

Despite assurances that the processes described in [these bills] are simple and straightforward, I remain unconvinced that this camel can carry even one more straw.

He further commented that he had problems with the processes explained in both bills. He said:

I am concerned that not all stakeholders were consulted prior to their passage. Wyoming’s reputation is at stake, as are the reputations of the individuals tasked with implementing the Act, should the effort fail. Moreover, unfortunately this idea emerged before there was enough time to provide even the most basic fiscal note describing the potential impacts of this Act.

Despite his alleged anti-crypto attitude, he was quick to support bills that both increased the annual salaries of state legislators and future governors. The governor salary in Wyoming will now be moved from $105,000 per year to about $140,000, while legislators will earn anywhere between $92,000 and $125,000 depending on their roles.

Cynthia Lummis Is Big on Crypto

Wyoming has established itself as something of a crypto haven for rural America. Cynthia Lummis, for example, was voted into the Senate in early 2021. Throughout her congressional reign, Lummis has worked hard to establish the crypto presence of the Equality State by asking men like Elon Musk – a billionaire entrepreneur and top-of-the-line crypto advocate – to establish digital currency businesses within the region’s borders.

She has also pushed for retirees to learn more about crypto and add digital currencies to their portfolios as a means of diversifying their assets. At the time of writing, it is believed that Lummis holds more than $200K in bitcoin.

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