Montana Legislature Passes Law that Clearly States “ Utility Tokens Are Not Securities”

Even though various states across the USA have taken different approaches towards the crypto industry, it is worth pointing out that by and large the current economic climate surrounding the altcoin sector is quite bullish. For example, at the start of this year, Colorado lawmakers passed an act — called the Digital Token Act — that “exempts utility tokens from being subject to existing state securities laws”.

Similarly, during March of this year, the Wyoming State Senate too passed House Bill 70 — the Utility Token Bill — which will confer certain niche benefits to people making use of crypto tokens on a regular basis.

In the same vein, it now appears as though the State of Montana too is all set to recognize the validity of “utility tokens” by exempting these commodities from existing state securities laws.

#Montana law recognizes #utility tokens & creates state #securities exemptions. h/t to @CaitlinLong_ for kicking off the the Rocky Mountain #Crypto Legislative Revolution https://t.co/9ZloIlPLIx pic.twitter.com/ibxcBkxo2f

— Drew Hinkes (@propelforward) May 23, 2019

In response, Caitlin Long — who is the Co-Founder of the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition — was quoted as saying:

“Congrats to #Montana for joining #Wyoming & #Colorado in recognizing that #utilitytokens are not securities under state law!”

• Additionally, it should also be pointed out that Montana recently made headlines when it decided to implement a new “cryptocurrency mining scheme” that sought to regulate the industry within its borders.
• As per a local news outlet, the above mentioned regulatory framework was devised by the commissioners of Missoula County. The reason behind this move is to help mitigate some of the issues related to electricity consumption that have been plaguing the area since 2016.

Final Take

In closing out this piece, it should be highlighted that Wyoming and Montana are considered to be states that are the most welcoming of newer technologies such as crypto/blockchain, while states such as New York have taken an extremely hostile stance towards the industry as a whole.