New York proposes bill to allow stablecoin payments for bail bonds

• New York submits new legislation to allow stablecoins to be used for bail bonds.
• The law, however, makes no mention of the specific stablecoins to be introduced.

The New York state has proposed new legislation to allow fiat-collateralized stablecoins to be used as a form of bail.

On 10 May, New York Assembly Bill 7024 was introduced as an act to modify the statute. Its goal is to create legislation that will allow stablecoins to be used for bail bonds.

Currently, cash, insurance, and credit cards are authorized methods of paying bail bonds, according to the bill.

However, it intends to change the law to include fiat-collateralized stablecoins as an additional payment mechanism. The law makes no mention of the specific stablecoins to be introduced.

Stablecoin adoption in New York could pave the path for other states to follow suit.

Step follows NYAG’s crypto regulations

It was only recently that New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James proposed crypto regulations. On 5 May, James proposed “landmark legislation to tighten regulations” on the state’s crypto enterprises.

The Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act would force cryptocurrency exchanges to undergo independent public audits.

Furthermore, to avoid conflicts of interest, it would prohibit individuals from holding the same companies, such as brokerages and tokens. The conflict-of-interest clause would impose restrictions on exchange-issued tokens.

The exercise could prove to be a major step in the broader acceptance of stablecoins in the U.S.

However, the NYAG has recently been actively taking action against cryptocurrency businesses. So far this year, she has launched legal action against several crypto exchanges such as Celsius, CoinEX and KuCoin.

Letitia James was also against Binance.US buying the troubled crypto lending platform Voyager.

All stablecoins currently have a market valuation of about $131 billion. It represents about 11% of the entire cryptocurrency market, a figure that has been declining this year.

Additionally, with a 62% market share and $82 billion USDT in circulation, Tether continues to be the industry leader.