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Digital currency Bitcoin now legal in California

Bitcoin and other digital currencies have steadily been growing in popularity across the world, so much so that California’s state assembly member Roger Dickinson lobbied the California State Governor to legalise the currency for public use.

“Modern methods of payment have expanded beyond the typical cash or credit card transactions. Bitcoin has gained massive media attention recently as the number of businesses has expanded to accept Bitcoins for payment,” Dickinson wrote as motivation in the bill.

Highlighting the importance of accepting Bitcoin, Dickinson’s lobbying paid off, as Governor Jerry Brown over the weekend signed a bill into law that makes it legal for anyone to pay for goods and service with Bitcoin.

With the subject line ‘Lawful money: Alternative currency’, the summary of the bill states that it “specifies that current law which bans the issuance or circulation of anything but lawful money of the United States does not prohibit the issuance and use of alternative currency.”

Bitcoin has been in private use in California for some time, but it was technically illegal to pay for anything using the cryptocurrency. But the new bill will give previous transgressors a clean slate, as the will no longer be breaking state law.

“This bill makes clarifying changes to current law to ensure that various forms of alternative currency such as digital currency, points, coupons, or other objects of monetary value do not violate the law when those methods are used for the purchase of goods and services or the transmission of payments,” the bill states.

The bill goes on to highlight exactly what Bitcoin is, how it works and how transactions occur, and lists some of the largest digital currencies that are in use.

But it seems as though Dickinson has a bit of a humorous side as well, as he managed to poke fun at US rapper Kanye West.

The official bill mentions the failed attempts to make COINYE (coin + Kanye West) happen, and said “facing legal action, creators of COINYE have ended the project and COINYE is now Lost in the World, but may have been nothing more than a Dark Fantasy.”

Lost in the World and Dark Fantasy are both songs by the rapper.

The full document can be viewed here.

[Image – File]

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