The crypto bug has infested most parts of the globe. Governments are slowly turning towards the market, some have been embracing crypto by regulating it, and a few others outrightly impose stringent bans. Hawaii did not want to be part of the latter. The US state decided to take a deeper look into crypto by setting up a task force.
Hawaii’s Commerce and Consumer Protection [CPN] and Ways and Means [WAM] committees have resolved to form a council to study crypto market regulation. The aforementioned committees sent a letter to Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi, as well as legislative members Roz Baker and Donavan Dela Cruz, expressing their newfound interest in crypto regulation.
The letter included information on a measure known as the “Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Task Force.” The bill calls for the formation of a task force under Hawaii’s Budget and Finance Department.
The bill further shed light on the sudden need for a crypto-centric task force. The bill read,
“Your Committees find that, despite the emerging growth and the popularity of digital currency, there is little regulation of the industry. Accordingly, as there is vast potential for both the use and regulation of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, it is in the interests of the State and its consumers to determine whether or how to regulate and provide oversight to the cryptocurrency industry.”
Here’s what Hawaii’s crypto committee is expected to do
This potential task force will purportedly conduct research, gather statistics, and assess data on crypto and blockchain technologies from across the country. After then, all of the vetted data would be submitted to the State Capitol. Ideas about the development of expanding blockchain into private and public sectors in the region were highlighted in the bill.
The task force is expected to entail a total of 11 members. The governor would be in charge of appointing the members of this committee. Additionally, the imminent task force is mandated to have representatives from a crypto exchange, a crypto firm, and a blockchain payments company.
Additionally, the task force is required to submit the curated data to the legislature twenty days before the Regular Session of 2024. Following this, the task force would reportedly dissolve.