After 3 years of deliberations, Governor Spencer Cox of Utah has passed a bill that established a team for digital and blockchain innovation. This is expected to empower Utah to endorse actions on crypto policy to the federal government.
The prolonged talks on setting up the Utah task force culminated with the state legislature introducing House Bill 335 in February this year.
The bill details that the task force will draft suggestions and implement them, allied with policies for the development of digital innovation, blockchain technology, and the embracing of financial technology in Utah.
The Utah bill will comprise at least 20 members who have suitable experience in the field of cryptocurrency, financial, and blockchain technologies.
The senate president, governor, and house speaker have been given the onus of bringing in 5 representatives each for the task teams. In a significant move, the Finance division of Utah will assist with staff.
Utah Move Comes Within A Week After US SEC Strengthens Force To Tackle Crypto Crime
By the end of November every year, the force will table a report to the Senate’s Business and Labor Interim Committee and the Legislative Management Committee. There is also a schedule by which the task force will be comprised.
The move by the Utah task force comes a few days after the Securities and Exchange Commission strengthened its membership to tackle crypto fraud and other crimes in its new Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. Further, the total staff numbers have been increased from thirty to fifty. This increases the ability of the SEC to move against violations in securities law that are related to crypto products.
An SEC press release mentioned the booming cryptocurrency market and the need to protect investors from fraudulent speculation schemes.
The team will include investigative trial lawyers, fraud analysts, and staff attorneys. The move was welcomed by Gary Gensler, the US SEC as he highlighted the success the cyber team has enjoyed in moving against crypto crimes.
