Wyoming lawmakers pass bill to prevent forced disclosure of private keys

• Wyoming lawmakers have passed legislation that, with one minor exception, prohibits state courts from ordering people to reveal their digital asset private keys.
• Wyoming has long been regarded as one of the most crypto-friendly states in the country.

Wyoming lawmakers have passed legislation that, with one minor exception, prohibits state courts from ordering people to reveal their digital asset private keys.

On 15 February, the Wyoming House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 41-13, a day after the Wyoming Senate passed it by a vote of 31-0. If Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signs the bill, it will go into effect on 1 July.

The new law states that no one in Wyoming may be compelled to produce a private key or make a private key known to another person in any civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings.

Any private keys associated with digital assets, as well as one’s digital identity, are covered by the law.

The minor exception is when a public key is unavailable or unable to disclose details of a digital asset, digital identity, or other interests or rights.

However, the act also stipulates that the new law will not prevent anyone from being forced to create, sell, transfer, convey, or disclose a digital asset, digital identity, or other interest or right to which a private key may provide access.

It also does not protect one from being forced to reveal information about a digital asset, digital identity, or other interests or rights. The bill’s passage comes after the private key law has been in the works since September 2019.

Wyoming is a crypto-friendly state

Wyoming has long been regarded as one of the most crypto-friendly states in the country.

In July 2021, it became the first state in the United States to declare a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) as a limited liability company (LLC).

It had earlier considered issuing a state-issued stablecoin in February 2022 but it appears that those efforts haven’t progressed much since then.