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Ohio Moves to Accept Crypto Payments for State Fees

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In brief

  • The Ohio State Board of Deposit unanimously approved a vendor on Wednesday to process cryptocurrency payments for state fees and services.
  • Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he’s “excited and ready to be the first to provide it to our customers.”
  • The decision follows a broader Ohio crypto legislation push, including proposed Bitcoin reserve and blockchain protection bills.

The Ohio State Board of Deposit unanimously approved a vendor to process crypto payments, including Bitcoin, for state fees and services in its latest bid to integrate crypto into public finance.

“With hundreds of thousands of transactions going through my office each year, I want to commend the board for taking bold action to position us at the forefront of the emerging digital economy,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose tweeted on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s approval caps months of work that began in April, when LaRose and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague pushed the board to authorize crypto payments. 



The proposal passed unanimously in May, but needed final vendor approval, the last piece that fell into place on Wednesday.

“There’s a reason why we now rank among the top five states in the nation to do business,” LaRose said in a statement. “It’s because we’re not afraid to embrace the tools, trends, and technologies that incentivize job creators to come here.”

The Secretary of State said his office processes hundreds of thousands of transactions annually and has heard “growing demand for a cryptocurrency payment option.”

“I’m excited and ready to be the first to provide it to our customers,” he added.

“It’s happening. Government payments in Ohio today. Everything onchain tomorrow. Thank you, ser,” Coinbase CLO, Paul Grewal, tweeted in response to the announcement

The crypto payments are part of Ohio’s broader push into digital assets. 

In June, the House advanced the Ohio Blockchain Basics Act, which bans local governments from restricting digital asset use and exempts crypto transactions under $200 from capital gains taxes.

Dennis Porter, CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund, previously told Decrypt that the legislation is “a clear signal” that lawmakers are “encouraging innovation in the Buckeye State.” 

LaRose also backs House Bill 18, which would create an Ohio Strategic Crypto Reserve funded by portions of state investment earnings. 

In a May testimony, he cited President Donald Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, established in January to make America the “crypto capital of the planet.”

So far, 47 states have introduced Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) bills, with about 26 states carrying active proposals still under consideration, according to the Bitcoin Laws tracker.

Arizona, Texas, and New Hampshire are among the few to advance measures furthest, while most remain stuck in committee.

Meanwhile, Michigan’s stalled Bitcoin reserve legislation gained momentum this week, with House Bill 4087 advancing to the Government Operations Committee after seven months of inaction.

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Ohio State lands S Angelo Smith, brother of star WR Jeremiah
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Ohio State lands S Angelo Smith, brother of star WR Jeremiah

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  • Eli LedermanSep 21, 2025, 09:47 PM ET

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      Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.

Class of 2027 safety Angelo Smith, the brother of Ohio State star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, has committed to the Buckeyes, a source confirmed to ESPN Sunday night.

The younger Smith is a 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior at Florida’s Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School. In addition to Ohio State, he held offers from Miami, Oklahoma State, Georgia State and Toledo. News of Smith’s pledge was first reported by Rivals.com.

Jeremiah was a three-time state champion at Chaminade-Madonna and landed with the Buckeyes in the 2024 class as one of the highest-ranked wide receiver prospects in the ESPN recruiting rankings era, which began in 2006.

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A second-team All-American last fall, Jeremiah shattered Ohio State’s freshman receiving records with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in a starring role on the Buckeyes’ 2024 national title team. He has logged 20 receptions for 315 yards with three receiving scores over the initial three games of his sophomore campaign in 2025.

Angelo followed in his brother’s footsteps at Chaminade-Madonna, where he was credited with 40 tackles, 11 pass break ups and three interceptions as a sophomore last fall.

He now lands as the third member of Buckeyes coach Ryan Day’s 2027 recruiting class. Five-star wide receiver Jamier Brown, the No. 2 prospect in the ESPN Junior 300, has been committed to Ohio State since November. Quarterback Brady Edmunds, who gave his pledge to the Buckeyes on Dec. 2, 2024, is ESPN’s second-ranked pocket passer in the cycle.

Ohio State holds 13 ESPN 300 pledges in the program’s 2026 recruiting class, which currently sits at No. 9 in ESPN’s national class rankings for the cycle. After a bye week in Week 4, the Buckeyes remained at No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25 on Sunday ahead of a Week 5 visit to Washington on Saturday.



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No. 3 Ohio State flexes defensive strength, tops No. 1 Texas
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No. 3 Ohio State flexes defensive strength, tops No. 1 Texas

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  • Jake TrotterAug 30, 2025, 03:39 PM ET

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      Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He’s a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at jake.trotter@espn.com and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State opened its national title defense by playing dominant defense.

The third-ranked Buckeyes rattled quarterback Arch Manning and stuffed top-ranked Texas four times on fourth down on the way to a 14-7 victory Saturday at the Horseshoe.

Two of those fourth-down stops came inside the Ohio State 10-yard line.

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Another came on Texas’ final possession. Manning found tight end Jack Endries on fourth-and-5. But Buckeyes star safety Caleb Downs wrapped Endries up two yards short of the first down to seal the win.

“The story of the game was the defense,” said Ohio State coach Ryan Day. “Those fourth-down stops were big.”

The Buckeyes defeated Texas with a fourth-down stop in last year’s CFP semifinal. Jack Sawyer stripped Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal and scooped up the fumble for the game-clinching touchdown at the Cotton Bowl, propelling Ohio State to the national championship game.

On Saturday, the Buckeyes defense — featuring eight new starters and a new coordinator in Matt Patricia — came up big on fourth down again.

In the first half, Ohio State stopped Manning on a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Texas finally got back inside the Ohio State 10. But cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away Manning’s fourth-down attempt in the end zone.

Texas scored a touchdown with 3:28 left in the fourth quarter to avoid being shut out for the first time in nine years, then got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining with a chance to tie. But after Texas pushed the ball to midfield, the Ohio State defense ended the threat with Downs’ one-on-one tackle of Endries.

“He was unbelievable back there as a field general,” Patricia said of Downs, one of three returning starters along with Igbinosun and linebacker Sonny Styles. “Guys stepped up to the challenge all the way across the board.”

This offseason, Patricia replaced Jim Knowles, who left the Buckeyes following the national championship to become defensive coordinator for rival Penn State. Patricia had won three Super Bowls with New England, including two as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, but had never coached a college game until Saturday.

According to ESPN Research, Texas’ four turnovers on downs were the most in the game since a 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland.

“I thought the gameplan was excellent,” Day said of the defense, “but the buy-in is what’s most important. What matters is the guys and warriors on the field believing in it. … The grittiness of our guys running around, there’s a lot we can build on.”



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Ohio State names second-year player Julian Sayin starting QB
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Ohio State names second-year player Julian Sayin starting QB

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  • Adam RittenbergAug 18, 2025, 12:18 PM ET

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      College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Ohio State has named second-year player Julian Sayin as its starting quarterback for its highly anticipated season opener against No. 1 Texas at Ohio Stadium.

Coach Ryan Day on Monday announced the decision, noting that Sayin won a close competition against junior Lincoln Kienholz but “separated himself, really, over the last week with his consistent play.” Sayin, the nation’s No. 9 recruit and top prospect from California in 2024, signed with Alabama but transferred to Ohio State following coach Nick Saban’s retirement.

Day met with the quarterbacks Monday morning to inform them of the decision.

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“Our guys are confident again with both quarterbacks; we’ll need both quarterbacks,” Day said. “Lincoln did a lot of great things, but we’re going to name Julian the starter here, give him the majority of the reps with the [starters] and go prepare to beat Texas.”

Sayin appeared in four games for Ohio State in 2024, logging 27 snaps and completing 5 of 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. He entered the offseason as the favorite to win the job, earning praise from several Ohio State players who moved on to the NFL from the national championship team. But Kienholz, who has not played since the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Missouri, when he completed 6 of 17 passes for 86 yards, made a legitimate push for the top job, showcasing athleticism and other traits.

Day said that dividing practice reps becomes more difficult when preparing to face an opening opponent like Texas the closer you get to the game. Sayin’s recent surge put him over the top.

“You’re always looking for consistency and taking care of the football,” Day said. “When you start with practice 1 in the spring and do a study on the entire growth over six months, you can see there’s a lot of growth made. You look at the numbers and the production, we felt like [Sayin] was in a situation where he was ready to go play in this game.

“We also feel like Lincoln’s ready to play, but overall, Julian is more consistent.”

Kienholz will serve as Sayin’s backup against the Longhorns, whom Ohio State beat in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in January. Freshman Tavien St. Clair, the No. 10 overall recruit in the 2025 class, will be third on the depth chart.

Day said Kienholz handled the news well and practiced well Monday with good energy.

“He knows in his heart he’s going to play this year,” Day said. “He’s a competitor, I’m sure he wants to play in the first game, but I wouldn’t say he’s discouraged. … The team knows that we’re going to need him, and he knows.”

Day opened his news conference Monday by declining to comment on the NCAA penalties handed down to archrival Michigan for the sign-stealing scandal, which included a significant fine and a three-game suspension for coach Sherrone Moore, two of which will be served during the 2025 season.



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