Florida May Declare Bitcoin as Money
Florida legislators are poised to add “virtual currency” to the state’s money laundering statutes.
Miami-Dade county cyber-crimes prosecutors aided in crafting the bill’s language
“The high-tech criminals of the 21st Century use virtual currencies like bitcoin to accumulate and hide the profits of their illegal activities,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “This legislation makes sure that traffickers and fraudsters can no longer try to use internet-based currencies to hide and move their ill-gotten gains.’’
The proposed law is a reaction to a Miami judge who dismissed a criminal charge against a man who was accused of using $1500 in bitcoins to purchase stolen credit card numbers. His lawyers successfully argued that bitcoin was not money under Florida law, obviating the criminal charge.
The state House of Representatives has unanimously passed a version of the bill in an appropriations committee. A Senate version has passed two sub-committees and is awaiting a vote in an appropriations committee.
