A bill that bans holding Bitcoin for public officials as well as their immediate families has been introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The legislative effort (HB1812) aims to change the state’s ethics and financial disclosure laws in order to prevent public officials from having exposure to the nascent asset class.
Apart from Bitcoin, public officials would also be barred from holding alternative cryptocurrencies (including memecoins), non-fungible tokens, and even stablecoins.
They would not be able to hold crypto through funds, trusts, or funds. The same applies to cryptocurrency derivatives as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have gained significant adoption over the past year.
The state’s officials would be required to divest their digital asset holdings within two months of taking office. Moreover, they would also be prohibited from owning crypto a year after leaving their government jobs.
Potential jail time
If a public official fails to comply with these requirements, he or she could face a civil penalty of up to $50,000.
It should also be noted that violations under the Ethics Act could be punishable as felonies with imprisonment.
Will it pass?
The recently introduced bill has now been referred to the Committee on State Government.
For now, it remains at the very beginning of the legislative process, meaning that it remains unclear whether the bill will eventually pass.
Crypto holders in Congress
For now, there are no restrictions preventing members of Congress from holding Bitcoin. However, they are supposed to comply with existing disclosure laws.
Several members of Congress from both the Republican and the Democratic parties have previously disclosed crypto holdings. They include Michael Collins (R-GA), Barry Moore (R-AL), Jeffrey Jackson (D-NC), and so on.