Wyoming House Approves Utility Token Securities Exemptions Bill

The Wyoming House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill exempting some utility tokens from securities regulations.

House bill 70 has now been passed to the senate for approval. If passed and signed by the state's governor, the bill would take effect on July 1, public documents show.

The legislation aims to exempt some utility token developers or sellers from securities regulations, provided they meet specific criteria.

These include that the token cannot be sold as an investment, but must be able to be traded for something, as previously reported by CoinDesk. In addition, the seller cannot have joined a repurchase agreement or an agreement to find a buyer for the token.

Furthermore, entities would be exempt from broker-dealer classifications if they were involved in token sales which meet the listed criteria. Banks, credit unions and savings and loan associations, among other parties, would not be covered by the bill, however.

The new legislation is not the only one that might be up for consideration by the senate. Another bill introduced last week would exempt cryptocurrencies from being taxed as property.

Senate bill 111, which has yet to be voted on or examined by the House of Representatives, classifies "virtual currencies" as any store of value, medium of exchange or unit of account that is specifically not recognized as legal tender by the federal government. If passed into law, it would take effect immediately.

Wyoming House of Representatives image via Shutterstock