Tennessee Taking A Proactive Stance Toward Cryptocurrency Investments

In the Tennessee state legislature, two bills introduced on February 2 would allow the state to make investments in various cryptocurrencies. The bills would also require the state to form a committee to study cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks.

Jason Powell, who was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, introduced one of the bills. It would allow municipalities, counties and the state to make investments in cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The bill, House Bill 2644, would change the state's current code to include blockchain, cryptocurrencies and NFTs to the list of allowed investments that can be purchased with idle funds. The bill moved on to the House Finance, Ways and Means committee on February 8 for review.

The second bill, also introduced by Powell on the same day, asks the legislature to create a committee that would make Tennessee the most pro-business and forward-thinking state when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. This is House Bill 2643. If it passes, it would make the state's commerce and insurance commissioner the chairperson of the committee.

The committee would be tasked with reviewing cryptocurrency and blockchain data from the United States. It would also have to determine the the status of laws and regulations around NFTs, cryptocurrencies and their platforms and blockchain networks. The committee, if it is formed, would be required to share its first report publicly by December 31, 2022. If the bill passes, the law would go into effect on July 1.

In 2018, Powell created a bill that would have allowed Tennessee to use smart contracts. The 10th amendment of the United States Constitution often gets in the way of state legislation around cryptocurrencies. Opponents of his 2018 bill argued that the Constitution was clear on matters of finance.

Other state legislatures are also looking at crytpocurrency, NFT and blockchain laws and incentives. Ron DeSantis, who is Governor of Florida, proposed that the state legislature allow Florida businesses to pay fees with cryptocurrencies. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed a bill in March 2021 that lowered the sales taxes of cryptocurrency miners who mine Bitcoin and other coins in Kentucky.